My Boss...Kinda Freaked Out

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I told my new boss at the bucks about my aspergers yesterday. She went to a scary-serious tone, and explained that I was replacing someone who also had AS. Then she listed off the problems they had with her. I admitted that many of them seemed possible, but I knew how to prevent these problems. I got her calmed down eventually, and she agreed that we'd make a few signals that she could give me, so that situations wouldn't get as out of hand. I now have a cue to remind me to attempt eye contact, another to "go with the flow" and not go too crazy about perfection. I in turn am going to help her to streamline the processes in the store to make things a bit more efficient, and raise quality. I guess it will all work out. I just hope she doesn't hold me accountable for the mistakes of my predecessor.

Did you make it clear to her that you are an individual? That Aspies don't have a mono-type personality?

I have 2 sons with Asperger's and they have totally different personality. They have different strengths, and different difficulties.

Helen

one of the problems with typecasting.

I'm sure if you do your job well, and continue to communicate with your boss to ease any problems you may be having then you'll be a shining example and fix AS in their minds securely as being merely "differently abled."

I come off as completely normal to everyone who doesn't:

A)know the signs of AS
B)doesn't already know I have it

And even when I tell people they still don't recognize most of it. My brother on the other hand doesn't have AS but I think something different, managed to forget over the years, but he couldn't pass off as anything but an oddity if you put him in the same situations I am in on a daily basis.

SinginCowboy,

While I'm very open about being an aspie, I don't think I'd mention it quite so early on in a job in future. That road leads only to typecasting.

You'd be better off letting them form their own opinions of you and explaining aspergers only when you hit an obviously aspie problem.

I'd have to agree with gbollard.

I was at my current job for about 7 months before I dropped the AS bomb. At which point the *pop* could have had a V8 sound audibly played and everyone was like "Oh. That makes sense." -- but in all seriousness I think it's kind of normal that your boss acted that way.

I don't think I would have expected somebody with a (likely) limited knowledge on the subject to immediately be, for lack of a better word, horrified.