By Lloyd Graff
I recently read Jodi Picoult’s new book House Rules about a teenager with Asperger’s syndrome, a mental disorder on the autism spectrum. It made me wonder if people who read this blog have experience with hiring employees with Asperger’s or perhaps have Asperger’s themselves. Autism in any form is a devastating brain malady, though I know people with advanced degrees who have been diagnosed with it.
It strikes me that with the right structure a person with the diagnosis could thrive with good supervision.
A job shop with constantly changing demands is probably the wrong milieu for someone with Asperger’s, but a company that has a very predictable workflow might accommodate such a person. A person with Asperger’s may have an IQ which is off the charts but lack social skills to decipher the subtleties of workplace behavior.
Please give me some feedback on your experiences.
Lloyd,
That is a excellent question! I have a nephew who was diagnosed early (thank goodness) with Asperger’s. He is twelve tears old now and that question of “what will he do as a career when he is older” comes up a lot. Since Asperger’s is on the autistic spectrum, routine and predictability is key to be able to excel in the job. I think the key not only lies with dealing with the behavor of the affected but also to educate his co-workers. As you may know, the persons behavior may seem inapproriate if you are unaware of the situation. The malady is getting some coverage on primetime now the the TV show “Parenthood”. It airs on NBC. Maybe this will help to shed more light on the condition and get more conversations started?