Published on 12, July, 2020
I currently employ a lovely young chap of 19. He is an apprentice and has been working with the company for about 4 months. What we originally believed were excentricities are now becoming more noticably signs of Asperger Syndrome. He shows pretty much most of the classic signs. We have asked him to tell us about his medical history but there has been no diagnosis. My staff find him quote difficult to deal with at times as he has ritualistic behaviour which can result in mild arguements, repetive physical behaviours which interfer with his work and many occassions where he has been unable to empathise. To be honest we do not know what to do. My partner and I are both ex teachers and have both had experiences of working with children who have asperger syndrom. He is quite typical of the children we have seen. We feel that if we knew that he had it then we could accomodate his behaviour better..at the moment he leaves us and our staff frustrated an confused by his actions. By knowing we would be able to adjust and accomodate. The main question is "what can we do to help him and thereby help us?" I need to know if he he has the syndrome (although I am pretty sure that he does) and what I can do to support him if anything...?
You could discuss this problem with your occupational health provider if you have one. Otherwise you could call the "Health for Work Adviceline" see the section on call for help in www.gov.uk/.../employers-urged-to-take-3-steps-to-improve-mental-health
He may not be aware of his fiddling and tapping and may be unable to do anything about it. In general, you could try and be very positive about encouraging him to do the things you want him to do. Try to avoid criticising harmless activities like lining things up etc.
There is lots of information about autism spectrum behaviours available on this website and there are lots of books about it.
Have you read the pages at www.autism.org.uk/.../employers.aspx ?