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Working with autistic people (as an autistic person) and professional boundaries

AnnieBo

I am a support worker for autistic children and adults. I would like to be open about my own diagnosis but am wary of sharing some of my own struggles. Is anyone here in a similar situation and been able to navigate it successfully/have any advice?

  • I think oftentimes folks see that you understand their struggles in ways that many other neurotypical professionals cannot. It’s your choice to disclose, I disclosed to a few coworkers and a few customers when it was needed, but it’s not a big deal in sales. Sometimes you listening and coming up with neurodivergent solutions is enough to make folks feel validated and comfortable. The rest is up to you and what you want from your work experience. Even in my line of work, it’s been cause of discrimination for some of my lower masking coworkers, so do be wary.

  • in reply to AnnieBo
    AnnieBo said:
    I'm more thinking of disclosing to service users..?

    You should speak to your company about this as you are acting as their representative and disclosing personal information like this may be against their wishes.

    Personally I would adivse against it, but this is your employers decision and they will need to know, understand and decide for you.

  • in reply to Stuart333

    Thanks   - I'm generally quite closed and not prone to sharing but every so often I'll get caught up in the moment and suddenly I've said too much! Yes - def there to give support and not be a friend :-)

  • If you want to build a rapport it can be helpful. But I'd be wary of sharing too much. If you are comfortable sharing you are diagnosed it may help and does not give much away.

    I assume you are there to provide support but not to be a friend. If you want to share more, you might want to pick a couple of examples to use with everyone,  so there is no favouritism and you don't then get sucked in and overshare.

    I think the idea is to give something so that they trust you and can talk, but not too much. If they open up to and work with you anyway, then maybe don't share anything.

    It is you and your time and attention they want. The rest is only to help them have some perspective, but that could be done with anonymous stories or general info about common struggles people have, so they don't feel alone.

  • in reply to Bunny

    Thanks  I will read those as I'm definitely going to disclose to my employers because I do need some support. I'm more thinking of disclosing to service users..?

  • I’m sure some others will share their personal experiences. In the meantime, you might find the advice in these articles helpful. Both of them include insights from other autistics:

    NAS - Talking about and disclosing your autism diagnosis

    NAS - Deciding whether to tell employers you are autistic