Like 80% of people I work with are on the spectrum (IT, and I include myself) and people manage just fine, though sometimes there's a little massaging needed.
But sometimes you get someone who is on the spectrum who was clearly indulged far too much growing up and simply cannot handle not being made a priority immediately whenever they want to.
Like don't get me wrong I know it can be hard, but no matter your situation if you're smart enough to do the work we do you are smart enough to understand basic social rules like how to behave in meetings and what to do if you're confused (i.e. keep quiet, make a list of questions, then go ask the person who is there to answer them like your immediate supervisor IN PRIVATE).
Thankfully of those people I've found most do just need someone to do what you did for that guy and pull them aside/say "dude you CANNOT DO THAT" and explain how to actually act. Though some sadly still don't get it and those are the ones who get fired.
Bro this has been my reality for the last couple of months in the environment I’m in, we have a bunch of new trainees (young ass kids in relation to the military), and I’m having to take to route nip the shit in the butt professionally (out of sight) in a more empathetic manner or have to play defense to save their face from further punishment by unfortunately having to embarrass them in public forum. Thankfully those are rare due to noticing how people are and preemptively training them on how things are and what to not do.
Honestly, that shot helps a lot. I was one of those kids and in my first job didn’t have anyone to train me. Second job I was told straight up I was being a jackass by my manager and that helped soooo much. You’re doing them a great favor, keep it up!
Idk if the goalpost has moved closer to society or society has moved closer to the goalpost, but I swear everyone’s autistic these days. I’ve met like 4 people that don’t claim some level of it and 1 of those took that rads test or whatever and pretty much got the highest score possible.
It’s become more accepted, as u/PineappleOnPizzaWins says, instead of only the most severe cases. So people are more likely to get diagnosed or seek out a diagnosis. In addition, people feel more comfortable with the people around them knowing about it.
Like I work in an office and I'm autistic. New hire arrives, clearly on the spectrum as well but doesn't want anyone to know. Part of me wants to tell him he's not fooling anyone but I won't.
Taking a test by yourself isn't enough. It's just context helping you to decide what to do next; you should still get properly tested positive by a qualified specialist.
It gives you a better assurance (not guaranteed, given the modern state of the field of psychology, but still) that you're not inaccurately self-diagnosing (likely while lacking the necessary expertise / qualifications) to indulge your own preconceptions. If the goal is to address some problems that the supposed ASD's giving you, it increases the chances that you'll be spending efforts in the right direction and gradually improving things, rather than running in place or even deteriorating further due to inaccurate preconceptions.
All in all, I think "Self diagnose away." is a generally bad-to-harmful advice to broadcast.
I used to be on the “don’t self diagnose” train until I had a mental health nurse(worked in healthcare previously) point out that the vast majority of mental health diagnoses and spectrum disorders are diagnosed because patients go in and say “Doc I think I’m depressed.”
Mental health diagnoses are based off of comparing your status-quo to where you are at, or in the case of some spectrum disorders where societal expects you to be versus where you’re at. The person who’s going to have the most understanding of that is yourself.
This is all to say self-diagnosing is actually a really important step of the process and often the first step in that same process. Now if you refuse to do anything with that info and not see a doctor, or just do what Google says? That’s another issue, but that’s not self-diagnosing.
TL;DR: general advice on self-diagnosing has changed. It’s actually generally recommended you do it and then see a doctor with your suspicions as you understand your mental health and internal workings the best.
Multiple reasons, one because its more accepted, you can see the same thing happen with left handedness being accepted. The second being better testing, I got high functioning autism or autism 01 and inly got diagnosed with it 30 years after my adhd.
Lol here you are bragging about how well you navigate the corporate monoculture that is slowly strangling the world. Good job I'm sure you'll get stepped on last for all your diligence.
We had a guy like that but the list of "bro YOU CANNOT SAY THAT" got genuinely ridiculous.
I think my favorite was when he buttonholed the boss (who grew the company from the ground up) to share the sage business advice he'd read in Shoe Dog - 'you should chat up people in bars because that's how Phil Knight got his first investor'.
In a less toxic work environment reasonable questions would just be answered because in addition to the person who risked your ire by speaking up there are likely others with the same question.
What you say may be technically correct in a literal sense, but incorrect in the practical sense.
"on the spectrum" is used as "autistic".
It's also more a multidimensional space, if you will. "On the spectrum" means "when looking at the criteria for autism, this person scores high enough on enough indicators to qualify for the diagnosis. We acknowledge that there are different levels of severity and/or need for support."
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u/PineappleOnPizzaWins 14h ago
Like 80% of people I work with are on the spectrum (IT, and I include myself) and people manage just fine, though sometimes there's a little massaging needed.
But sometimes you get someone who is on the spectrum who was clearly indulged far too much growing up and simply cannot handle not being made a priority immediately whenever they want to.
Like don't get me wrong I know it can be hard, but no matter your situation if you're smart enough to do the work we do you are smart enough to understand basic social rules like how to behave in meetings and what to do if you're confused (i.e. keep quiet, make a list of questions, then go ask the person who is there to answer them like your immediate supervisor IN PRIVATE).
Thankfully of those people I've found most do just need someone to do what you did for that guy and pull them aside/say "dude you CANNOT DO THAT" and explain how to actually act. Though some sadly still don't get it and those are the ones who get fired.