Should i tell me employer?

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I have recently been diagnosed with what my psychologist has termed Mild Aspergers (how that actually fits in the spectrum i am not sure), this diagnosis has still to be fully settled as she hasn't spoken to my parents yet about my childhood (i am 32). The diagnosis sits well with me, it certainly explains an awful lot about the things i do, and things i don't do.

What i am not sure about is whether i should tell my boss or not. It doesn't change me, i am still the person they hired, i just have an explanation of a number of my traits now. I am leaning towards yes as i work as an IT Consultant and there is an increasing pressure to deal with people not just develop the software, as i have been doing most of my time here.

I am based in Australia and would particularly like to hear from other Australians who have faced similar questions. Having said that any advice would be helpful, I just know some of the rules on this sort of disclosure vary dramatically between countries.

Don't see since you only have it mildly, how it would affect you dealing with clients as an IT consultant? Therefore I wouldn't tell your employer who may or may not misinterpret your ASD and falsely think it could affect your performance.

Thank you for responding, you make a good point there that i hadn't thought of before.

One of the reasons i did finally go for a diagnosis was some of the feedback i got on my dealing with clients, there is an emphasis in the company on the business networking side of things, which i struggle with. It does effect my dealing with clients, i don't see the subtle signs of disinterest or think to follow some of the pleasantries that others do, and have been picked up on it by people at work previously. I don't think this has been to the point that i can't recover from though, mainly through my taking tasks that can stand on their own, such as a data model that is mostly self explanatory.

This is my take:

I'm not Australian, by the way.

If it would not benefit you financially or vocationally, I would not disclose that I have Asperger's. There's lots of ignorance floating around about this "disorder."

It's also none of your employer's darn business--as long as you do your work properly, and get along with your colleagues.

Due to recent problems I've had at work after disclosing, I would say NO.

I told my employer just today. I've started meeting with a therapist, and I need a regular day off in order to see the therapist at the same time every week. I'm actually going more for my panic attacks than ASD, but it was all on the same diagnosis sheet so I shared the ASD as well. My boss seemed very understanding and OK with it, so we'll see. It kinda depends though...I shared my panic disorder with a previous employer and they shortly after found a way to get rid of me.

Such a frustrating question. Because of the wide disparity in how people react I can not give an answer. It comes down to us assessing others motivations, a skill a lot of us are lacking. The best thing to due is when searching for jobs is apply to positions where heavy emphasis not placed on networking and multitasking. These positions are becoming rarer and rarer.