Asperger's on the Job: Must-Have Advice for People With Asperger's or High Functioning Autism, and Their Employers, Educators, and Advocates (7 page)

Practice eye contact for a day and journal your thoughts and reactions to it.

How does it feel and why do you think that is?

Are you a confident person?

If not, why not?

What can you do to improve your confidence?

E
nvironmental sensitivities, or sensory processing issues, are part of the autism package deal. It is not because of a problem with the eyes, ears, nose, etc., but with the brain itself. Everyone on the autism spectrum has sensory issues and in some cases they are extreme. Sensitivity to sound is particularly common. Loud noise can feel like a physical assault but even quiet sounds may be painful and annoying, such as the hum from fluorescent lights, refrigerators, ceiling fans, printers, and other equipment.

Over-stimulation from noise in the workplace, from too much conversation, chatter, machinery, alarms, announcements, computers, etc., creates confusion. It can cause people with AS to become cranky or withdrawn; cause headaches, and trigger reactions such as having to cover one’s ears; an urgent need to flee the room; feeling frozen or inert; or feeling sick, even feeling as if one’s head “would explode.” Many with AS don’t like shouters—people who talk
louder and more boisterously than a situation calls for—and many of us are very soft-spoken.

“I get distracted easily by loud noises. I get intimidated when people talk too loud.”

- BEN

“I can be traumatized by loud sounds such as a metal office cart going by. I can be startled quite easily in the office due to my auditory issues.”

- MIA

Being distracted by noise is a common complaint in the workplace for all, but it has added effects for those with AS:

• Researchers have found that when people are trying to have or follow a conversation in a noisy environment, the brain “juggles” the different possible meanings of a sentence until it decides which is the most likely. This is based on context, probability, and prediction (MRC 2007). The AS mind is perhaps less likely to predict where a sentence or conversation will go. It cannot juggle in the same way, so it gets confused. Also, many if not most with AS can focus on only one sound at a time. Noise and crowded social situations are difficult and exhausting and require extreme effort to focus.
  
• Many with ASDs have also been diagnosed with
  post traumatic stress disorder
  (PTSD) (Fitzgerald 2005). Nervous reactions to loud noise are common in autistics but are also a symptom of PTSD. The person’s reaction may stem from a combination of both. While some may feel that diagnoses are being handed out like candy in the current medical climate, it is important to understand that PTSD
  is
  often part of the legacy of a lifetime of having Asperger’s.
  

While executives may not be aware of this, studies show that noise is the number-one complaint among
all
workers. It affects their productivity, the loss of which is far more expensive than the money saved by having “cubicle farm” offices (Young 1999). While some activities can be conducted successfully in the open-plan environment, tasks that require concentration and creativity are adversely affected; inspired thoughts go out the window, mistakes are made with data, and multi-tasking becomes difficult. Employee productivity and satisfaction decrease (Oldham, Brass 1979).

While this applies to neurotypical (non-autistic) individuals, the effect of the open place office on people with AS is even more pronounced due to sensory and social issues. When asked “If you have to work in a group or office situation, what accommodations could be made to ease the anxiety?” people responded:

“Having a quiet office; headphones don’t work for me.”

- DIANE

“My own isolated office, completely quiet, where nothing can be heard from outside of it.”

- DAVID, 39, SELF-EMPLOYED

“The adrenalin that kicks in whenever I’m around people is exhausting and distracting. It either makes me want to party and celebrate, in which case I get over-animated and show-offish, or it makes me cranky and annoyed. If I were ever to work in an office with other people again, I would have to have a desk away from everyone, and preferably a door I could close to shut out noise and the feeling of other people being around.”

- TANDY, 48, GARDENER

Many of the issues in this book could be managed more simply if the person with Asperger’s had their own office or private workspace. Whether because of noise, lighting, visual overstimulation, or socializing, a private workspace is high on everybody’s wish list.

“I would need an environment where I would have limited distractions.”

- MIA

“Open plan offices over here [in the UK] rarely even have partitions between desks. Doing skilled technical and analytical work that requires focus and concentration in such an unnatural environment drains me emotionally and mentally. I can focus on such work for long periods, but in an open-plan office [of NTs] there are social expectations. The work I do could easily be done in a solitary office away from what are unnatural and unnecessary distractions, and with greater utilization of my skills and more productivity. Unfortunately, lack of understanding about Autistic Spectrum conditions leads employers to the conclusion that the typical modern open-plan office environment is right for everybody.”

- DR. G, PHD PURE MATHS, MS COMPUTER SCIENCE, SELF-EMPLOYED

As mentioned, a person with AS can focus on a project or task for very long periods of time. Some can indulge in their passions tirelessly, but many can also devote the same rigorous hours to menial, mindless tasks with the same attention to detail. You can be sure that if they are “in the zone,” they are unsurpassed in diligent effort, research, problem-solving, and just plain
work.
Having a space away from prying eyes will ensure that this goes uninterrupted. You don’t want to stop the flow. They will give more time and attention to detail than anyone, but
not
under scrutiny. This is an important point and has a whole chapter devoted to it. See the chapter, “Trust Me, I Have Asperger’s.” We’ll talk about visual over-stimulation and other sensory issues in the next chapter.

• Ask for a quieter workspace. Whether or not you wish to disclose AS outright, you can simply tell your employer that you like to give the job your best and would be able to function better in that environment.
  
• Try using earplugs or headphones if your job allows. No matter what you like in your off-time, instrumental music or nature sounds (wind, water, birds, etc.) will probably be more conducive to concentrating on work than music with lyrics. Save the heavy metal for the drive home or on your break.
  
• There are software programs you can find and run on your pc that provide the necessary sounds for white-washing environmental noise.
  
• If you work with a shouter, you may have to get creative. If you haven’t disclosed AS, you could try telling them that you have ultra-keen hearing and that they need to speak softly when they are around you. It’s a little naughty, but better than the alternative of having a meltdown.
  
• There are different therapies and techniques that have been shown to be effective, especially if you have a particular “trigger”—e.g., a fire alarm or siren. They usually involve playing back the sound and controlling both the timing and the volume yourself.
  
• Stress and sensory overload should be looked at as a whole, a “total load.” You need to do all you can to keep yourself well and happy, for when your endorphins are up, you’re less sensitive to pain.
  
• Learn and use stress management techniques: meditation, mindfulness, yoga, and focusing exercises.
  
• Soothe shattered nerves with natural remedies like Valerian, or chamomile tea. Don’t over-caffeinate yourself.
  

We’ll give more suggestions for soothing and strengthening nerves, and dealing with visual over-stimulation and other sensory issues, in the next chapter.

Open-plan offices were first introduced in the 1920s, to get as many desks as possible into as small a space as possible, thereby saving money (Caruso 2009). The open-plan workspace is anathema to people with Asperger’s Syndrome. But non-autistic people aren’t overly fond of it either. Studies show that it is making employees sick:

Employees face a multitude of problems such as the loss of privacy, loss of identity, low work productivity, various health issues, over-stimulation and low job satisfaction when working in an open plan work environment. (Oommen, Knowles, Zhao 2008)

Provided you haven’t been convinced to abolish your open plan,

• If there is a small office that is unused, let your AS worker have it, even if they are doing the same job as everyone else. If others complain or wonder why, remember that your employee confided in you and you owe him your discretion. It is not necessary to tell co-workers he/she has Asperger’s; simply tell them that this employee needs it for physical or sensory reasons. If a separate office or room is not available:
  
• At least make sure they have their own cubicle with tall partitions, which is created easily enough, and preferably a window, in the most quiet, private space available.
  
• There is also the possibility that at least some of their work, if not most of it, can be done from home. This is discussed at length in the chapter, “Trust Me, I have Asperger’s.”
  
• The advantage to the employer? You will have a healthier, happier worker, whose productivity and longevity will be increased. You will also feel good about yourself knowing that you have put human needs first.
  

What noises set you off?

What steps do you currently take to deal with them?

V
isual over-stimulation is a distraction from concentration and evokes the same sort of reactions as over-stimulation from noise. But the source might surprise you. Even fussy clothing moving around can be a visual distraction, or too many people in the room, or too many machines with moving parts. For those who work outside, a windy day is a triple-threat—with sound, sight, and touch all being affected. Cars moving, lights, signs, crowds, all this visual chaos can exhaust the AS person. Back in the office, too many computer screens, especially older ones with TV-style monitors, and sickly, flickering, unnatural fluorescent lighting were both high on the trigger list. The trouble with
fluorescent light
is threefold:

• Cool-white
  and
  energy-efficient
  fluorescent lights are the most commonly used in public buildings. They do not include the color blue, “the most important part for humans,” in their spectrum.
  
• In addition to not having the psychological benefits of daylight, they give off toxins and are linked to depression, depersonalization, aggression, vertigo, anxiety, stress, cancer, and many other forms of ill health. It’s true. There’s an EPA report to prove it (Edwards and Torcellini 2002).
  
• Flickering fluorescent lights, which can trigger epileptic seizures, cause strong reactions in AS individuals, including headaches, confusion, and an inability to concentrate. Even flickering that is not obvious to others can be perceived by some on the spectrum.
  

Natural light,
on the other hand, is a natural antidepressant. It improves mood, raises energy and meets our need to connect with our outside living environment. The body uses light as a nutrient; natural light stimulates essential biological functions in the brain. It also cuts down on energy costs (Edwards and Torcellini 2002). Prior to the 1940s, natural light was the primary source of light in office buildings; artificial light merely supplemented. Now, electric lights meet most or all of workers’ needs. Doesn’t sound so good for our health, does it?