Trying to help AS in the work place -- suggestions?

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Yes, I was reading this entire thread and I was thinking the same. I have had a lot of jobs but I have never known someone to be that accommodating and that understanding. It is really almost hard for me to believe.

First, thanks everyone for such kind words -- and for the support that you've provided.

Update -- today I talked to our tech and he had been worried about several things -- and I think we were able to work on some of the issues he had -- and in addition, come up with a schedule that works for him, and allows us to get our data in a timely way. We are focusing on one study at a time, and allowing him the ability to customize the priority of the work; to discuss it with me so we are all in agreement and share the same expectations.

He seemed much more upbeat afterwards, and very positive about his project (and became quite talkative again, which was a very good sign!). I am much more relieved that he seems to be moving in a more positive direction for himself. It's only the first day, but I think we are in a much better place. Remembering a lot of your suggestions, I also made sure he knew he could come to me anytime, with any issues, questions, concerns and even disagreements or suggestions about the studies or procedures in the lab - and if something is bothering him, or he has a question, he should never hesitate. The fact that he doesn't know, or needs more information, means it’s a worthy question that deserves a timely response (even if sometimes we may not be able to come up with a definitive answer, we can work that out together as the project unfolds.)

I think allowing him more control over the time table for the studies, and working together with him on this aspect has really helped him out - again, he appears much more enthused about the research and getting the data to the investigators and discussed the time table and what he feels he can accomplish this week. I wanted him to also take it slow and make sure he has plenty of time to work on things, especially if projects need to slide to a second day. As long as we plan in advance, then we have wiggle room if needed.

I also tried to make sure he understood that many times things happen -- and we can't control them. This means some studies may implode on themselves -- and that's no one's fault. It simply means we need to run the study again - Sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate, or we get sick and miss a day or two and in that case, we will have to drop back, regroup, and "punt" again.

I also think it will be important to give him periodic progress reports on how his data is contributing to the overall picture the investigators are building for the project. Most students/techs in the past have been happy to wait for the publications or the grant summaries - but I think in this case, I need to keep him more up to date with this, particularly since it can take several months for the publications to be written and submitted.

Again, he seemed very happy with this arrangement, and now I think the biggest challenge for me is to be sure I can keep the commitment I made to him -- so he's happy in his job. My belief is if the techs and students are happy, the lab will be productive -- and if that is the case, everyone will be happy (we hope!).

I also realize he will have some up days and down days -- and we're ready to deal with that now. There are no silver bullets for any of life's problems -- Again, the comments and insights many of you provided have made me aware that we will have to deal with this on a day to day basis. In that way, I think he's no different from any of my other techs -- he just lets me know about it in no uncertain terms and now, even when he doesn’t say anything, I'll be better able to decipher that something’s amiss. I think in the end, this has been a positive experience for everyone involved (at least, I hope it has -- and over time, we'll find out!).

And I'll keep people up to date -- and we'll see how things go. Again, if anyone has further ideas, suggestions, warnings, etc -- don't hesitate. I really want this to work for everyone involved... thanks again!

While that is true, the fact is most people on the spectrum cannot and do not think that way. Intellectually I know that, but when push comes to shove then I cannot think it at the time. I guess what that means is that when something does happen that does hold things up or means that they do not work out, you do need to try to calmly explain to him why it has not happened this time. It may not need to be said to other people and it may seem stupid to say it for the 50th such study, but when you cannot think that way without assistance it really does help to be reassured if that makes sense. The concept of not being able to control things simply does not work well for people on the spectrum, and can be very difficult to comprehend. It can feel as though you have failed, you have let the whole world down, etc, etc.

Putting things in writing can also really help. We have trouble with communication and when it involves people it is so much more difficult. To put things in writing, we can read over them at our own pace and look back on them and think about them without having to go back and say what did you say about this, I only heard half of what you said.

Hi Bjcirceleb -- I had anticipated from working with our tech for the past 6 months, and after thinking about this, that I would probably have to gently remind him of this each time. But it's good to be reminded myself -- as sometimes in the emotion of the moment, we (the supervisors) may forget -- thanks for this.

He does do well with written things -- but it depends on the format. He is reading his email more regularly now (when he first started, he didn't read email daily, or write things down, but I let him take that on his own initiative to start doing that -- didn't push him). But I know he likes to blog as he talks about doing movie reviews, etc (in fact, that's one area he loves -- going to movies and then reviewing them so I do try to engage him on this, getting his opinion about if a movie is worth going to, etc -- he's actually very accurate and quite good at this - at least, his tastes in movies tend to match mine ) He's is very good at text messaging and I do use this alot, not only with him, but I found that the other students respond better/faster to texts than they do to email, etc. In fact, when I text him, he's very quick to respond or call me back - and that's where he surprised me a bit -- he's quite interactive and talkative, but it has to be something that interests him - which is fine. I have also learned that when I tell him something, and he hears it, he doesn't see the need to respond -- so I had to learn that for him he gives this little, barely perceivable nod -- and he has it. And not to push for conversation - he talks when he wants -- and when he does, he is very vocal and interactive. Actually, this personality type fits very well with the lab as most of our "little eggheads" are pretty much the same -- they get very involved in their work and only really talk when they see the need. But he's very good at jumping into the stream of a conversation at lunch break without any prompting and he seems to enjoy interacting and talking to the others in the lab -- and in that regard, doesn't really stand out from the rest of the group at all. As I said in a previous post, everyone really likes him -- and it may be that in each of our ways, we are all a bit "AS" -- at least in basic research labs, this type of personality is not uncommon... which may be why in terms of social interaction, he isn't having a real problem -- so a few weeks ago, when all of this came to a stop, and he fell off -everyone became quite concerned and realized something was wrong.

I did ask him if he wanted a list, and he said that my daily texts or email updates in the mornings were fine -- so again, I will let him have a bit more control on this. But he knows I can do this for him, or help him with this if needed (or wanted).

In the end, it seems there were things we needed to do to make him more comfortable, and to let him know we were always there and available for him (and each other). So he's moving to meet us on some things, and we've given him more room and flexibility to get his job done and are meeting him on his needs -- and of course, we'll have to adjust and change over time. This is project/lifestyle change for the lab, for all involved -- and we're hoping we're on the right track. But it will certainly be a work in progress...