Jutty1224 wrote:
If you have a co-worker that you suspect might be on the autism spectrum, is it ok to ask them if they are. I (person A) have a female co-worker (person B) who works in the call center where I've been for 9 1/2 years. She's (person B) been there almost 6 years longer. I'm about 13 years older than she is. I had another female co-worker (person C) who at one time mentioned they have a brother who has Asperger's and went to a school for those with Asperger's, but they resigned from the job where we (persons A and B) are currently employed. I had thought of asking this person (person C) who said they have a brother on the spectrum, if they think the co-worker (person B) I'm suspect of is on the spectrum. I did happen to run into person C at the grocery store one day last summer and should have asked them. There was point in time, prior to 2019, that person B came up with a idea where on the first payday of each month, we get paid every other Friday, we go out to dinner at some restaurant in the area. Not just the two of us but a few other co-workers as well. Person B is engaged to be married this summer and I believe that her fiance (person D) might also be on the spectrum.
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Working in a tech sector, I am not surprised I Suspected an awful lot of fellow workers, and some managers as well
Is it OK to ask ? Generally Not. It is a very personal and rathe invasive question. It can come accross as bullying and harassment. Worked out better to use knowledge to make some unobtrusive adjustments to keep a good working environment.
Would I ever have asked ? Perhaps once, in my duties as a Union Rep in a vexing personal case between an immediate manager and their supervisor, as looking back I see signs that both may have been autistic, neither had any reason to consider they were, and they had ended up in a most dreadful mess which seemed to have our communication and thinking differences as underlying causes.
But it would have needed to be asked in the most incredibly sensitive way, and only having first taken lots of advice from my supervisory official at head office. It might have turned disciplinary and grievance matters into an inclusion and diversity, occupational health and training matter, or may have made matters even worse.
10 Feb 2023, 3:13 pm
