I think a coworker might BE an aspie

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airbikecop
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02 Jan 2006, 5:00 pm

What to do?



Last edited by airbikecop on 02 Jan 2006, 11:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ZedSimon
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02 Jan 2006, 5:14 pm

Have an aspie as a child or be one themselves, do you mean?



airbikecop
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02 Jan 2006, 11:34 pm

I mean BE an aspie, oh crap.



Tally
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03 Jan 2006, 2:03 pm

It's a difficult subject to introduce, and it really depends how well you know the person, and how much you are willing to tell them about your own Asperger's.

You could tell them about yourself and see if this person catches on that they have some of the same symptoms. They might just end up thinking you are a bit wierd though.

You could leave a leaflet about AS lying around somewhere where they will see it.



Jonny
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04 Jan 2006, 8:58 pm

I would leave it, its not really your business unless its a really close friend. Even if it was a friend i would be hesitant with taking it any further.

AS is a serious issue and could be life changing for good or for worse.

In some ways i wish i never learnt about AS.



ZedSimon
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04 Jan 2006, 11:22 pm

My advice: just play it cool and don't even bring it up unless they do. And yes, get to know them better to establish a comfort factor before either of you considers breaching the subject.



neongrl
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05 Jan 2006, 10:16 am

I'm positive that one of my coworkers is an aspie. I'm pretty sure we have common comorbids too - ADHD and OCD. I know she sees how much we're alike (and so does everyone else - they don't mention one of our names without the other one coming up too) but I don't think she realizes that there's a name for any of it. I'd love to mention it one day but I doubt I ever will unless a REALLY obvious opportunity comes up. She's in her 40's and she's made it this far through life without my help... I also have another coworker who's a possible borderline aspie, and another one with obvious ADD. She even talks about her husband's ADD sometimes but doesn't seem to realize that she has it herself. Maybe they have different variations of it because she does seem to see all the similarities between herself and me when it comes to that stuff. Or maybe she's just in denial - it's ok to have these traits as long as you don't give it a name or label (my parents are like that). Either way, again, I probably wouldn't mention anything about it unless an obvious opportunity came up.



Grey
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05 Jan 2006, 11:23 pm

I'd say just leave it alone.

I don't think it's "safe" to try to diagnose other people, nor do I think it would be polite.

I know that if one of my coworkers came up to me and said, "hey, are you an aspie?" I'd be very unhappy. I'd be humiliated that although I thought I was passing for normal (or at least eccentric) that my weirdness was pronounced enough to diagnose.

There's a couple of people where I work who I think have aspie traits, but I'd never say anything to them. I doubt it would help them, and I'm sure it wouldn't do me any good.

One of them I get along with, as well as I get along with any of my coworkers, we have enough interests in common that we can have a conversation, but not a long one.

The other one I really dislike. He's just too extreme in his traits.

The funny thing is that, in terms of getting along at work, I think I'm more adaptive than they are and better at "pretending to be normal", but I wonder if people think I'm just as weird or weirder and talk about me behind my back the way they talk about them. Something to think about.

Grey


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airbikecop
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06 Jan 2006, 10:23 pm

Now the whole resturant is wondering if something is wrong with this guy.

I don't even think his parents know something is wrong with him.



numark
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21 Jan 2006, 11:26 am

I agree with Grey,

perhaps you could just be supportive of the person instead of having to discuss diagnoses. if all the employees are marginalizing thisperson it may help for you to attempt to bring them back into the group, however this may also be problematic as they may want to aviod being forced to interact with other employees. it is always hard to know what to do i think!! !



airbikecop
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09 Feb 2006, 9:00 pm

One of the managers flaps her gums saying he was picked on in high school, I went to high school with the guy and he was never made fun of. If he was, I would have known. I'm that kind of person.

He has made progress with talking and is becoming a little bit more vocal. His brother is clueless and wants to evade the subject in the rare moment I see him. I don't even think he knows his sister is gay, or what goes on in the rest of his family. It seems working at a dead-end tech support job, getting piercings and tattoos and f*****g stoner goth chicks is all he does.