
Disclosure of autism at work holds risks and benefits - chc2149
https://www.spectrumnews.org/opinion/viewpoint/disclosure-autism-work-holds-risks-benefits/
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petercooper
_It was disheartening to be outwardly liked and praised but to never receive a
real promotion._

I've noticed this as a common unfortunate side effect of disclosing _anything_
that has a stigma attached and explains why the upper echelons of most
pursuits (politics, business, sport) still tend to be quite homogenous. While
a small but ever increasing spotlight is being shone on issues faced by
various minorities in the workplace (particularly by race and gender),
disabilities and disorders tend to be less obvious and people are less keen to
talk about them.

I'm autistic myself and have shielded myself from a lot of these issues by
running my own company and delegating things I'm weak at but I've been very
lucky to reach that point and my employees are very patient with me.

More work needs to happen to make standard workplaces take advantage of the
many skills autistic people can bring to companies but without putting a glass
ceiling on where they can go. The tech industry, in particular, is ahead of
the game on this, I believe, due to some common autistic traits actually being
an _advantage_. Companies like Microsoft have also actively developed programs
to engage with and hire autistic people:
[https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/accessibility/2018/04/02/au...](https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/accessibility/2018/04/02/autismawareness2018/)

~~~
ultraforce
I am personally really lucky as I am pretty high functioning on the spectrum,
I am studying to go into the tech industry and my parents are both very
supportive and our family is upper middle class.

That's just to say results may vary but I know there are multiple
organizations that have come to do stuff at my university to set up job
opportunities for those on the spectrum. They also function to inform students
on the spectrum of the labour laws in Ontario and what that means in terms of
helping people on the spectrum work as well as they can.

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kraig911
I'm having difficultly explaining my child has autism and need the time off
all the time. Seriously people's expectations versus handling reality are very
misaligned. Everyone constantly tells me I look sleepy and I've over heard
from some that maybe I drink too much. They don't understand the time it takes
to drive a kid to see 3 different specialists every other week, to drive to
and from ABA therapy (which doesn't keep consistent hours or after care) they
don't understand that she can't get into daycare (she's been kicked out by
almost everywhere) and they definitely don't get why I'm like just a grain of
sand away from losing it.

~~~
anon192831
I have a brother in-law (20yo) that's also on the spectrum (aspergers).

In an attempt to help with general anxiety that's associated with Aspergers,
we introduced him to marijuana (as it has a relaxing effect), but that just
mainly causes more anxiety.

However, it turns out that microdosing on psychedelics has been quite the
panacea. I'd highly recommend reading the book "A Really Good Day" that goes
over the safety aspects, myths and such.

In a span of 4 months, the kid is completely changed. Far more sociable. He's
communicated that his anxiety is gone. He has become more thoughtful and far
more self-sufficient. His ability to communicate/articulate his needs &
desires, relay stories from his day are new behaviors that have presented
himself since this regimen has started. In a sense, he has gone from "more
autistic" to "more typical teenage/young adult boy" in a span of 4 months. He
still does say that his condition is still apparent and that his ability to
intuitively react to emotion/facial expressions/body language hasn't
necessarily developed, but with the anxiety removed, now he can read body
language cues with ease as he is not debilitated by the anxiety of the
interaction and move forward in the interaction rather than recusing himself
and living in his own bubble.

The reason this appears to work is because psychedelics increasing brain
plasticity/neurogenesis. Even after the doses stop, the benefits will continue
to remain as new neural connections have become established. A regimen can be
used for say a month or two and be stopped with the benefits derived, so it's
not something one necessarily needs to engage in for the rest of their life.

His immediate family doesn't know that this regimen is taking place, but
everyone in the family during gatherings attributes his demeanor change to his
"summer job" which "opened" him up, and are so "proud" of him and his growth.
Of course, spending 12 years in a social school environment did nothing to
open him up, but a 3 month summer job did the trick. _chuckles_

Of course there are stories of people who have taken very large tripping doses
and have had catastrophic effects, so it isn't without risks, however, it
appears that the risks are pretty minimal and also very manageable at
microdose quantities.

So far in my microdose experiment, n=5 have had absolutely no ill effects and
has been tremendous boon to mental state/cognition/clarity in general.

~~~
cultus
That's great with the psychedelics. It's a promising treatment from some stuff
I've seen with PTSD patients.

RE: cannabis. Most cannabis you buy is high in THC, which causes anxiety. You
want the high CBD, low THC stuff. CBD has anti-anxiety properties and is
actually relaxing, especially at high doses. As a bonus, it does not get one
high. I also recommend a vaporizer pen or edibles instead of smoking.

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callesgg
I have found it best to not talk about any psychological pathology with anyone
that does not understand it(no one really understands but some people
understand that they don't understand). You can mention the symptoms, but
don't label it, as soon as you insert the word autism, schizophrenia,
depression people will apply their own preconceived deeply flawed
interpretations of the problem.

~~~
notyourday
Disclosing anything not directly related to the work (i.e. health/future
plans/dreams/difficulties/struggles) at work is a _terrible_ idea. Every
single person who thinks or advocates otherwise lives in a bubble -- betting
on a correct outcome is no difficult than betting on rationality of the
market.

Remember, market can be irrational for longer than you can remain solvent.

~~~
callesgg
That really depends on what you want out of your workplace.

If all you want is money to fuel the rest of your life then i think you are on
point.

Personally i think life is to short/demanding, one needs to find an
appropriate balance between work and personal life. I would rather have the
people at work be friends than foes.

~~~
dasyatidprime
Did you mean “friends”, or am I not getting the pun?

~~~
callesgg
Yes i did mean friends:)

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thesperg
As someone with many Aspergers tendencies, I can tell you that most work,
school and social environments are not great for us.

While I think it is annoying to have Aspergers and be expected to act
“normally,” I can see it would have many downsides for people to claim
Aspergers status and bring this into regular office environments rather than
develop coping strategies.

It takes very, very little time for normal people to come to understand that I
am “weird” and that I don’t provide expected responses to normal interactions.

This year, my social weirdness has resulted in situations where I have gotten
into fights with my coworkers who decided to attempt to bully me after they
realized that I don’t have normal social skills.

Unfortunately, the only techniques I have at my disposal are to make it very,
very costly for people to bully me. I don’t have the ability to come up with
proper responses to nasty comments in real time. When people say things to me
I don’t like, it takes me a long time to articulate to myself what the problem
is and why it made me mad and by then it is too late - That person now thinks
I am an easy target and persists in their behavior.

After reading and learning more about Aspergers I realize that this trait and
many others are common. It was very helpful to learn from other people with
this sort of condition and have developed coping strategies. I truly recommend
doing a lot of research (not on the internet, I mean real books written by
qualified people) if you suspect you have Aspergers.

I tend think about something someone said or did to me for several days and
even months. I seethe.

Normal people tend to have situationally appropriate responses to small
provocations, I develop anxiety about them.

I manage a team of people and get paid over $330,000 / year. The idea that I
still act and feel this way is insane and so immature but that’s how my brain
works.

~~~
pmiller2
What do you mean by “make it very, very costly for people to bully me?” That
sounds to me like a strategy that can easily and frequently backfire.

~~~
Sileni
[Not op] Salted earth. It does backfire, especially for that relationship.
Usually if it goes to that extreme I'm not going to be able to save the
relationship. But anyone who witnesses you burning a whole forest down to kill
a squirrel tends to leave you be after that.

~~~
pmiller2
So, basically /r/ProRevenge level stuff? I can’t imagine how you could get
away with any of that in a sane workplace.

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Nasrudith
This highlights some of the underlying irrationalities and insanities of
"normal" society. The rational thing is low effort - not giving a damn unless
it is somehow actually relevant. Yet management insists upon setting up
additional talent filters for petty reasons and go with what flatters
themselves above all else. We see things like the most social positions -
managers having closed offices while giving open office plans and cubicles to
the people with conventrative work.

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nugga
Be aware that not every person has your best interest at heart and
occasionally you may come across people who will abuse your weakness if you
put yourself into a vulnerable position or paint yourself as an easy target.
This may be a fringe issue but if you declare yourself to be socially
inept/awkward, the sharks may come.

~~~
smelly1098
Just curious.

Is it pretty common for this to happen?

I just got completely marginalized at my last workplace after they realized
how socially inept I was and basically forced out the door. It also happened
my job before that. Both were startups though.

Wondering if that's pretty common or if I just had bad workplaces?

~~~
nugga
Bullies will be bullies and it is not uncommon for people wanting to belong to
a group or take sides at the expense of someone else. This sort of behaviour
seems to be common especially during childhood in schools where someone will
be 'it', if you know what I mean.

Now don't take this the wrong way and think the world is against you and don't
get bitter. These moments can be great moments to learn and grow up, and not
every act that seems hostile is, or is at least deliberately so in full
awareness of the perpetrator.

Like it or not, the onus is also on you to fix your shit, whatever that may
be, and try to understand these situations and what behaviour on your part may
contribute to landing in them.

I'm talking in general terms not knowing anyone's situation but mine.

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Ricardus
There are jobs where I would absolutely never disclose being on the spectrum.
Typical corporate 9-5 stuff. But my current gig is as a technical director at
an art museum, and my aspie super power is technical stuff (as it relates to
this) like lighting and sound. I have disclosed being on the spectrum to many
people at work, and they didn't bat an eyelid. It's super mellow and SO not
corporate. It's great. A perfect fit, really.

A lot of is is me hiding in the booth, so I don't have to interact with people
if I don't want to, but pre-show stuff ALWAYS requires me to interact with
artists. Thankfully I can fake that part. Usually when I demonstrate
competence at the task at hand they don't care about the rest.

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sjg007
Just as an FYI, autism is considered a disability so your employer has to make
reasonable accommodations.

~~~
smelly1098
Most make you sign a disclosure when you apply to the job if you have a
disability or not.

~~~
pseudalopex
US regulations require many employers to ask for disclosure but generally
forbid them to require it.

~~~
sjg007
No you are wrong about that.
[https://www1.eeoc.gov//laws/types/disability.cfm?renderforpr...](https://www1.eeoc.gov//laws/types/disability.cfm?renderforprint=1)

~~~
pseudalopex
[https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/section503.htm](https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/section503.htm)

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csense
I feel like it's an open secret that a huge percentage [1] of people in the
tech industry are somewhere on the autism spectrum. Whether they've been
formally diagnosed is another question.

[1] I don't have numbers, but greater than 50% wouldn't be surprising.

~~~
wwwater
Although I do agree that the percentage of people on the spectrum is higher in
tech industry than in other industries, I think it's not higher than some
5-15%. When you ascribe to every introverted person being on the spectrum, you
neglect the significance of it in people who really have it. It's like you're
saying "yeah, we're all like this, so don't pretend you can't do this or
that".

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matkinz
Disclosing a mental illness at work sounds like the worst idea you could ever
have.

I think it's better not to say anything and, if you wrong someone because of
your illness, maybe tell that person in private and apologise. Unfortunately
doing that makes it sound like an excuse.

I'm not saying I have a better solution. Some people simply aren't apt for the
real world. That's sad but it's the truth.

~~~
kitanata
Autism is not a mental illness. I am not mentally ill. I was born with a
disability which causes social impairments and a host of other symptoms. Being
Autistic is beyond my control, and is untreatable other than just trying my
damndest to “pass” as neurotypical whereever and however I can. I find it
incredibly insulting and damaging to label me as mentally ill.

~~~
6stringmerc
As a person who suffers from a biologically testable disability, I find it
insulting and damaging to the truly handicapped to lump Autism in with
provable conditions. I've had a hard time understanding why it's so socially
acceptable to wave a flag when convenient and stand up for justice when
there's no scientific backing beyond the justification for homeopathic
remedies. Society is a complex organism and while we are making inroads - not
labeling people as witches and burning them alive - stumping for a wishy-washy
grab-bag of symptoms to label a true disability is a pretty hard sell. I'm not
claiming you're mentally ill for having autism, but then again sometimes I
wonder why people voluntarily choose to take pride in defective functions.

~~~
ultraforce
I know in my case it's because prior to finding out about being on the
spectrum and having Aspergers I just thought it was everyone else who was
defective. For some people on the spectrum including me, the biggest
difference was that everyone else was some kind of weirdo who knew rules
without being told them. As a kid, you are told to be careful on a road and
that's why you are, you are told not to have your hands on a soccer ball but
you aren't told make sure to lie to people when it comes to certain
conditions. In a way, it's weirder than most people figure out without being
told by anyone okay don't tell people that they are fat and don't ask
questions about why someone is so certain that their religion is correct.

I had to be taught that but outside of that, most people who didn't spend too
much time with me then think I am smarter than average and are willing to rely
on me for help with some stuff. I am proud because Asperger's is related to
how one's brain is wired if I was embarrassed or considered Asperger's to be
defective it would take a toll on my mental health because then I would be
thinking of myself of a defective thing and defective things are usually
thought of as something that should be thrown out.

~~~
callesgg
Isn't a major part of Aspergers the inability to see that the human mind is
irrational by nature.

And sometimes the inability to see that the objective world that exists is not
the same objective world that we see. Due to how the brain interprets sensory
information from the objective world.

An example taken from your own text:

The reason that you are not supposed to tell a fat person that they are fat is
cause by saying you are fat you are essentially pointing to that persons
irrational behavior(eating to much).

The fat person does not want to think about their own overweight, it will lead
to them start thinking about their own irrationality. Something that will then
cause them to feel that they are a failed person, causing negative emotions.

Reality can be analyzed in many dimensions.

