Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
I wear noise-cancelling headphones at work, and together with my tendency hyper-focus, sometimes I can become totally zoned out of my external environment. Sometimes, when my supervisor has something to say to me, he visits my desk without any warning and waves his hand in front of my face - otherwise there is no chance I would notice him there.
The thing is, like most autistic people, being suddenly distracted or surprised makes me stressed. Often my heart starts racing, my face goes red and I can't process what the person is saying, or figure out how to respond. My supervisor knows I am autistic but I'm not sure he understands some of the lesser-known issues (e.g. difficulties being interrupted and task-switching). I'm not sure I want to give my boss a list of instructions for how to interact with me. I was considering asking the university disability service to circulate some practical guidelines on how to be around autistic student/staff. I'm already in a noisy, open-plan environment with essentially no adjustments, so I do feel like I should do something.
Has anyone else experienced this? Cheers!
Business idea right there
"My mouth just blurts out a sound-bite from my collection of "making people go away as soon as possible" routines"
Story of my life!
Thank you everyone for your excellent replies!
Oh, that's the worst isn't it - when they realise they didn't need even to interrupt you at all in the end! Grrr!
By the way, this is relevant and may be helpful - as Trogluddite said, concentration broken takes an age to recover. Also, humour can be helpful in communicating the serious point & may lighten the mood of the conversation.
Yes, I know this experience very well. It wouldn't be so bad if it didn't take me so long to get back "into the zone" after being interrupted, and it just empties my short-term memory, so I waste time trying to pick up the thread again.
Worse still is my brain's "auto-reply" feature, developed over many years of learning how to pretend that I know what's going on when I really haven't a clue. My mouth just blurts out a sound-bite from my collection of "making people go away as soon as possible" routines, and I can end up agreeing to do something without registering that I was even asked to do anything at all. Naturally, this has some rather unfortunate consequences down the line.
I definitely agree with the suggestion to put all communication in writing. It can be difficult to get it to stick though; people are very wedded to the idea that face-to-face is more friendly or personal, so they tend to slip back into their old ways very easily in my experience - they will need reminding!
If your manager is truly sympathetic, then try to remember that, when asking for adjustments, you're trying to benefit them, too - in management speak, try to make a "business case" for the adjustments. To take the example I gave above; being in the hyper-focused zone for long stretches without interruption is when I'm most industrious and productive, and every interruption is costing the time it takes me to backtrack. Providing adjustments is a win-win situation - you are more comfortable in your job, and your boss gets productivity improvements.
We should make some
Loving the sound of these signs
:-)
or "DO NOT WAVE HAND IN FRONT OF ME AS I BITE"
i get that as well. sometimes i actually jump.
if u have skype for business IM, they could use that. Having said that we have skype for business IM but still one of my bosses still sticks his hand in front of my face.
Asking them to send you an email is a good idea! Or wear a tabard saying 'DO NOT DISTURB!' in large letters!
I ask people to wave at me from their desk. You could also ask them to send you an email
This would stress me out too. The university disability service might be a good place to start. The information on this page might be helpful - maybe you could share some information about autism in your next 121 to discuss how you can perform at your best at work? https://www.autism.org.uk/professionals/employers/information-for-employers/managing.aspx
Is a different method by which you would prefer your boss to get your attention? If so perhaps ask them if they can do that instead?
Hi - a good boss would appreciate a list of how to behave to get the best out of you (which they will stand the best chance of if you're comfortable and not stressed). Think of it like giving them the user manual for their employee (you) - who would turn that down?
But note that I said a "good" boss! It depends on your exact situation but if they are interested in nurturing the relationship they have with you, they should be very much up for talking about this stuff.
Try not to be shy about asking for adjustments too - you're entitled to them if they are reasonable, and as you know, sometimes a little tweak that costs nothing can make a huge difference.