Dealing with Asperger Syndrome in the Workplace: A case study
Dealing positively with autism in the workplace is a topic gaining more awareness in the L&D community. The National Autistic Society will be exhibiting at the forthcoming World of Learning Conference. This is a case study about Alan, a Client Services Associate for Towry, a nationwide Wealth Manager. Alan, who works in Towry’s London office, received a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome shortly before his 50th birthday. Alan is married and has two children.
Growing Up
My early years were unsettled. I was quite a nervous child. I found it very difficult to settle into school. I came home in all the lunch times throughout primary school, never mixed with the other children. I did have friends, but they were all a bit different, a bit geeky. I was also a bit of a butt of the jokes at times and was picked on a bit. I learned to shrug it off and ignore it. I used to really enjoy doing crosswords as a child, particularly the cryptic crosswords. I won a national crossword competition at the age of 16. I had to complete a series of crosswords on a monthly basis and won first prize. I studied Mathematics at a polytechnic university.
Getting a Diagnosis
Approximately five years prior to diagnosis, the paediatrician at the local hospital had assessed that my son and daughter both had Asperger Syndrome. In a general discussion, she then said that she felt that I also had the traits of someone with Asperger Syndrome and suggested I should get myself assessed. I did not do so at the time as I felt that I had survived 45 years without having a diagnosis, so why bother now. I received my diagnosis in August 2012, when I was nearly 50.
Asperger Syndrome affects my overall thought process – I think within a box and generally very linearly, rather than thinking about other options and implications of my actions. I tend to get very focused on tasks, which can mean that priorities get confused. Socially, I struggle to get real friends and build real relationships. I tend to get on with people I meet, but don’t really mix with them outside of the context in which I’ve met them. I can be somewhat impulsive on occasions and on others, I overthink things – I struggle to find a happy medium.
Getting in touch with the NAS
At the end of 2011, before I had my diagnosis, we had a situation at work where there were some problems with communications I had sent out to people. During discussions with my employer about these problems, I was asked what I could do to change things and at that point it was suggested I pursue the Asperger Syndrome assessment. My employer covered the costs of a private assessment. Following on from the diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome, they followed the recommendations in the diagnostician’s report, and contact was made with The National Autistic Society (NAS) with a view to them assisting both my employer and myself.
Workplace Assessment and Training
The NAS provided an initial workplace assessment, where somebody came into the office for a day and sat with me to go through what I did in my role and how I dealt with it. They spoke to my managers and other people I work with. Following that, a report was provided to my employer, detailing aspects of my role and work environment, which they felt it may be appropriate to review and potentially make adjustments for, with a view to playing more to my strengths and to develop any aspects that were causing me difficulty.
The assessment was very beneficial because it facilitated discussions with my employer which have allowed me to play more to my strengths, as a result of the amends made to my job role.
The NAS has also provided me with some additional training. I undertook four half day sessions focusing on key areas of my workplace skills. Meeting others who have experienced similar difficulties made me appreciate that I am not the only one in this position. It’s very easy when you are someone who is very coherent and ‘with it’ to brush off something like Asperger Syndrome. You feel that your difficulties are minimal, and question why you would need help. But, when I had the training, I met other people who were similar to me and it made a big difference to my way of thinking. The training has also been useful as it has formed the basis for my development plan for this year, so it has been a very positive step. I also currently have regular sessions with an External Mentor from the NAS, during which we discuss any issues or difficulties I may have experienced, as well as successes I may have had. I find that a very useful sounding board and way of discussing things.
The NAS has also provided my managers and colleagues with training on dealing with someone with Asperger Syndrome. This has made a big difference, because it gives them greater awareness and understanding of my thought processes, and it has helped my managers to utilise my strengths. It has also helped those around me to better understand why I am likely to react in a certain manner and perhaps deal with something in a certain way. It enables them to ensure they are providing information to me in an appropriate manner as well – presenting me with clear, specific instructions rather than more vague directions which can be misinterpreted. I think, without a doubt, it has been beneficial.
Something important that my manager has learnt is that I generally don’t like change. They now ensure that I am forewarned if there is something that is going to happen that will impact upon me. We had a situation at one team meeting where I was given an award for a review that I had done, and it was sprung on me at the time. Whilst it didn’t throw me considerably, it did make me flinch and feel a bit nervous and anxious. As a result of that, we had a discussion and I was then told in advance, at another team meeting, that I would be getting an award. It made me feel more comfortable generally in myself.
Strengths and Achievements
My biggest strength is my eye for detail. I am very thorough with anything I do as it is important to me, as it is the firm, that all information is accurately recorded. My willingness to help is also a big positive, along with my knowledge of the industry and of certain tasks within Client Services.
I have worked in the industry for a number of years and people can draw on my experience and knowledge. My memory is very good when it comes to things like numbers or particular facts. I’m particularly good at recalling those, for example general information on clients. If I’ve done a task on a client previously (it might be six months ago)and am asked about what happened, more often than not I can remember exactly what occurred and I am able to give the full ‘ins and outs’ on that.
I have received two awards at the Monthly Client Services Team Meetings for my Quality Reviews, which relates to accuracy and completeness of data entry onto our database. These are done to monitor how you input data onto systems and I naturally always do very well at that.
Generally, my overall honesty and attitude to work are the things that are my strengths. I like to get things done and finish things off.
What I Want to Tell Employers about Autism
I think you’ve got to give people a chance. Try to understand why people are likely to behave the way they do and think the way they do. If a person seems to be working in an unusual way, doing something different or having persistent problems in certain areas, then look at exactly why that is and what might be causing it.
If your employee has a diagnosis of autism, make sure that the environment is created so that the individual isn’t frightened to talk to you about it. Discuss with them how they may need things set up going forward to deal with work in a better manner. If you work to assist somebody with their condition, you will get more out of them. You can work with their strengths and those individuals will be able to do their job more efficiently.
My Advice for Autistic Employees
Make sure you get as much support as you can from your employer or the NAS and try to be honest about the difficulties you’ve got. I think it’s difficult to know the exact time to open up about it - I guess it’s when you feel comfortable in yourself. I think it’s important to raise things with your manager or HR representative where necessary. You obviously need to feel confident that your workplace will respond positively, but I think being open and honest is important. If it’s difficult for you as an employee to approach your own HR or manager, then ensure you have support from the NAS. Make sure you have contacted them, spoken with somebody and enlisted appropriate support there.
Another important resource is Access to Work. It’s a really important service for autistic people in employment and it’s good to let your employer know about it. Access to Work is a service that helps provide funding to support any changes and materials that you may need in your workplace environment to do your job appropriately. My employer has taken advantage of this. It means that the employer can provide the support to you at little or no cost to themselves and it has been beneficial in covering the cost of a number of things, like the external mentor and the Workplace Assessment from the NAS.
Positive About Work
Since I have had my diagnosis, it has made a change to things within my working environment. My employer was aware that I had some difficulties but they didn’t understand why I did certain things and behaved in certain manners. Having been through the diagnosis and feeling able to inform my employer of what the issues were has made a big difference, because it has enabled them to adapt more to my environment and support me better. It has reduced my stress levels and it has made me feel more comfortable talking openly to people. Initially, I put off getting the diagnosis because I didn’t think it was important. Having been through it, I now think that it’s extremely important. If there is a possibility that you have Asperger Syndrome and you haven’t got a diagnosis it’s important that you seek the diagnosis. Not just because of the name- I don’t care if it’s called Asperger syndrome or anything else, quite frankly. The most important thing is it highlights those character traits where you need to be aware of them and helps you see if you can adapt, or your employer can adapt, to address or overcome or work with them. I think that’s probably the most important thing that has come out of my experience.
Alan’s Manager’s Experience
I’m Alan’s direct line manager and I started working with Alan in February this year, a while after Alan’s diagnosis and involvement with the NAS. It had been Alan’s previous manager’s job to implement the recommendations from the NAS, making sure Alan is happy in his role, and I have picked up where she left off
The NAS was recommended as part of Alan’s diagnosis and came in to conduct a workplace assessment and gave us some tailored recommendations. They also delivered some in-house training for people who work closely with Alan, to help them gain a better understanding of Asperger Syndrome. Alan also receives workplace support from an NAS consultant who acts as his mentor.
Neither myself nor Alan’s previous manager have ever worked with someone with Asperger Syndrome before, so the recommendations that the NAS made and the support they offered was really fantastic. It helped give us some clear direction in how we could adapt Alan’s role and make the workplace a more positive environment for him. The training provided was amazing as it gave everyone in the room a greater understanding of Asperger Syndrome. It covered the different way it affects people and some positive ways of approaching it. It also gave us all a chance to talk out scenarios and think about how to handle things going forward. We all came away with a much better sense of awareness.
The support has helped us to work with Alan’s strengths like his amazing eye for detail and the high quality of his work which is second to none. We do regular quality reviews and Alan has scored highest on the team consistently for the past few months, which has led to Alan receiving a number of awards internally.
The NAS continue to work closely with both Alan and myself as his manager on an ongoing basis. Between Alan, his NAS mentor and myself we plan to review the original workplace assessment and recommendations in the next couple of months to ensure that it is still relevant and up to date. We will work together to make any further appropriate changes to continue to fully support Alan.
My main advice to other managers would be “don’t be scared of it”. A diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome doesn’t mean people don’t have strengths beyond that. By slightly adjusting Alan’s role, we’ve got the best out of him and he’s performing so well that he’s consistently performing to an excellent standard. So, don’t be scared about it. Get in touch with the NAS to educate yourself and your team so you can work with the benefits of Asperger Syndrome and support your employee to really succeed.
The National Autistic Society is the UK's leading charity for people with autism and their families. Founded in 1962, it continues to spearhead national and international initiatives and provide a strong voice for all people with autism. The NAS provides a wide range of services to help people with autism and Asperger syndrome live their lives with as much independence as possible.
Find out more at http://www.autism.org.uk/
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ENDS
Notes to Editor:
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