Taken from http://prousseau.hubpages.com/hub/AspergersandHR
Having Asperger's Syndrome is so many things. I've read where people feel lonely or that they do not belong. That is very true. It is a constant battle for someone with Asperger's to act as though they belong and hide some of the symptoms.
Living with AS in a society that places so much stock on interpersonal skills is like running a marathon day after day and never having that day off for your muscles to recover. Eventually you are not performing as well in the race and you can not run any longer. You need to rest. Now, couple that physical exhaustion with the mental exhaustion of knowing that you have to "act" for the crowds at every checkpoint no matter how tired you are. You have to get up there and do this over and over or you will lose your sponsors and therefore your livelihood. Now you have exhuastion from meet and greets, the exhuastion from the run, and the anxiety of not knowing. Welcome to Aspergerland!
Still there are great things too! Intense focus, long-term memory, and problem solving skills are greatly enhanced for some. Imagine being able to drown out the entire world around you for an extended period of time to the point where the problem you are focused on solving is all that exists in your world. Imagine being able to recall a conversation almost verbatim and how useful that would be for documentation. Imagine being able to drill down into the finest detail to come up with a solution without having to focus on other problems at the same time. These skills and others can be at your fingertips if you only use them by accomodating someone with Asperger's Syndrome.
This guy apparently goes around educating organizations (particularly human resources) about Autism and Aspergers.
08 Nov 2012, 3:19 pm
