Pros and cons of telling your boss about AS

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Here's what I can think of...

Pros

- Weight off your shoulders - you no longer feel like you're concealing something important that your boss maybe ought to know to maximise their management ability with you
- Explains to your boss why you fail to understand vague instructions or misunderstand the meanings of emails
- Explains to your boss why you prefer to focus on one task and get it finished, and struggle when faced with regular changes or unexpected short-notice jobs which out-prioritise the task you're currently working on

Cons

- Your boss may panic as they probably don't know much or anything about the condition, they'll thing you're either the Rain Man or a serial killer
- Your boss may think you're playing the disability card and being smug, like "You can't fire me now", when that is not your intention in the slightest
- Your boss may not consider you for potential future responsibilities/promotions as they think you'll be less able to do them

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Have any of you told your boss about your AS? Had you planned it or was it a spur-of-the-moment thing after criticism of your performance related to your AS? Did anything change when you told them? Did you regret it or did it go well?

Personally, I haven't told my boss. There have been a few situations when I've been tempted, but haven't. I think on balance I'm better off not doing so (see below), but would not rule it out completely either.

Conversely to my AS, I am in charge of hiring/recruitment for my team. This involves going through CVs, sending remote tests to candidates and eventually interviewing the best ones, both over the phone and in person. It is the one thing that brings me out of my shell a bit - I actually love this part of my job (it's not my main job, it takes about 20% of my time). I'm worried that if I told my boss about AS, she will do an Internet search and see the social aspects of it and think I'm a completely unsuitable person to be in charge of a domain which involves social skills and representing the company to outsides. That's probably the main reason I haven't told her. She's a genuinely great boss and also a good friend outside of work (we were equal-level colleagues and friends for a long time before she got the manager job). I also don't know if the fact that we're friends as well as boss-employee makes it better or worse for me to tell her.

The most amusing thing is that my boss uses very flowery, idiomatic language. I just do. not. understand. idioms, sayings, similes, etc. That's one of my most visible AS signs, and the small handful of people who've suspected and been brave enough to ask me have guessed based on that, and not understanding wishy-washy instructions.

I don't believe I would be relieved if I informed any boss that I have an Autism Spectrum Disorder. There's nothing wrong with having an ASD; it just a variation on a common theme: human nature.

I would not disclose unless I believe it would be to my advantage vis-à-vis the job. Just like the boss wouldn't disclose to you that he/she is cheating his his/her spouse, or that he/she has ADHD which might affect his/her interaction with you as an employee.

Yes, this was actually one of my biggest concerns when I was on job-seekers. I never know whether to tell the employers at the interview or not. I asked internet forums like this one for help, but other people made it sound so easy, like ''yeah, you should because they should understand''. I was like ''yeah, what people should think and what people do think are two different things in most cases''. But then I'm scared that if I don't say anything, they might take me on and I might get thrown into the deep end and they might wonder why I am perhaps a bit too shy or nervous at communicating confidently or why some tasks are making me anxious or that I need extra help with something. Then they might sack me for not being co-operative, when that is not the case at all. It's especially awkward when they ask you at the interview if you have any disabilities that may interfere with your work (this has happened before). If I say no, they might take me on, then see that I am having difficulties with some things, think I'm stupid or just difficult, go to sack me, then I will say ''oh, I do have Asperger's'', and then they'll be like ''well, we did ask you if you had any disabilities at the interview and you said no''. But then if I say ''yes I have Asperger's'', it might jeopardize me of getting the job. Plus I get embarrassed about my condition and just find it hard to look someone I don't know very well in the eye and say that dreaded word without my face going red.

It's not that my Asperger's interferes that much with my work because I will ask for help if I need to, and I can do just about anything if I put my mind to it or upped my will power or whatever it is that could make me stronger. But all this does take a lot of effort and there is too much anxiety for me to ignore, and it is best the managers know about this, just so that I can relax and be myself a bit more and I will probably get the work done better. I'm not the sort to use Asperger's as a crutch or excuse, because I want to be treated like everyone else, and besides I don't even like having Asperger's anyway.

Don't do it!

Addendum: Unless there is a specific accommodation that you want to request. Otherwise it's none of their business.

If your boss is a friend of yours, I can't imagine why you didn't mention it ages ago.

However, that said, I can't in all honesty recommend it. Unless she has a close family member with AS, she's going to be clueless what you're talking about and will either, as you say, do an Internet search, pick up a few stereotypes on which to base an erroneous conclusion and begin to treat you as incompetent, or potentially dangerous and unstable.

The third possibility is that she'll think you're a neurotic, excuse-making attention-seeker and look on you with contempt and intolerance.

The least likely outcome is that she, or anyone else you work with, will be fascinated and want to learn more about this intriguing condition and be happy to accommodate you in whatever ways you need, as an equal and valuable team member.

This

I'm going to have to tell future employers because of the severity of my condition, it's not something I can hide.

When you do, be specific about the reasons why you are telling them (ask for specific accommodations,) but be careful, it can be used against you even by the most well-meaning people. Sometimes they just don't take you seriously when they know too much about you. That's just my 2 cents anyway.

Thank you.

im on the fence about it

at work my foreman has a son with aspergers I would like to disclose to him but im not sure if I should or even what I would say

I haven't at my work. I'm a Physics Technician, so I don't deal with anyone who isn't another employee most of the time, so I don't really see AS as being relevant to my job. That and employers love 'teamwork' and 'excellent interpersonal skills', even if your job is mostly working alone like mine. I'm actually pretty good at teamwork, funnily enough, but I wouldn't want employers assuming that I can't work with others because of prejudiced assumptions about autism, so I keep my mouth shut. People just assume I'm a slightly awkward science geek, I think.

In the late 90s I had a boss who told me I was a little bit autistic but I did not listen

i am quite moderate autistic so i sort of have to tell the boss. i rather people know anyway, as i dont get embarrassed when opening up about being autistic.

I work at a nonprofit that provides supports for people with MR and autism, I had hoped it would open a door. Instead I got a response that we thought you would do great running a group home, no wonder you failed.
I do my best to attribute the comment to ignorance. Though it doesn't mean I have had any respect for him from that day onward.

With some support to see if I was ready for certain kinds of work or volunteering. They would have to know in advance as it is more severe.