What would make it easier for you at work?

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I would like the lighting to be half what it is (especially in the lunchroom).

I would like to have a little room (even a cupboard) where I could go sit in the dark on my breaks and rock.

I would like to never have to speak to customers again, or else that they would understand that I need some time to process what they are saying and just because I'm not giving eye contact, doesn't mean I'm not listening.

What makes it easier is to find a job that allows you to work alone, in a private space, with little direct supervision.

I miss my old job. I was alone in a small garage that was too cold in the winter time and too hot in the summer but it kept me away from my co-workers therefore a paradice. I even was allowed to keep half of the floresent lights unplugged to keep me from going blind. I was also allowed to work at my own pace so long as I was done on the time they needed the parts by. This was the only good job I ever had so I would have to say I would look for the same thing in any future jobs.

NO FLUORESCENT LIGHTS. None at ALL.
Somewhere where people work on one thing at a time, and start a new one when the old thing is completed.
I can even handle customer service if that's the only thing I'm doing. It's a bit stressful, but I like working with people. Just don't ask me to fill some shelves and help people at the same time. :[

I simply can't train people how to do my job no matter if they are people I know really well like my own family. Now for some reason I can train them via email. If they were to email me something they worked on, and I looked it over, I can send them an email any corrections they need to make. By emails I have time to think about what I want to say. I can pause however long I want. But for me to train in person, I simply can't. Is that true for most people with aspergers? Why is easier to communicate via email than in person?

I can deal with professional interaction and florescent lights, just don't ask me to go to office lunches, parties or happy hours.

if there were no other people, i would do just fine.

I have the same advantage with email. In a typical interaction, information is being exchanged on non-verbal wavelengths, tone of voice, etc. NT's have a handicap that makes them especially dependent upon and yet unaware of, exchanges on these 'nonsense' wavelengths...

ASIDE: Tongue-in-cheek humor here... but really, I think it's important when discussing differences, to note that we are sometimes better adapted than NT's are. It could be said that we are 'disabled' not because of a deficiency in us, but because our environments and culture have been designed to work best with the NT's psychology. The technical professions are an important stronghold where we often have advantages. (And also a place where society has no problem yoking Aspies to computers to profit immensely off our abilities, while making very few concessions for our welfare. *grumble*)

So, when you move to email, you strip all that extra rubbish off. The NT feels like he/she has been limited severely, but the probably can't put their finger on why because they're not used to thinking abstractly about their own mode of communication. Meanwhile, we can exchange the exactly the necessary information without having our bandwidth eaten up by uncomfortable noise we have to guess at.

Quiet would help.

As if *that's* going to happen.

I work in an office where I deal with clients, which I can do just fine. I seem to be ok with providing information (I've been doing my job for 11 years, so I know pretty much all of the questions and answers that might come up), but the small talk/chit chat aspect of dealing with people is my downfall. If my clients would just ask for info, receive it graciously and leave it would be ideal; as it is, they feel compelled to exchange niceties with me, which is a challenge, but is doable.

More of an issue is my co-workers and their constant distractions (which, on their part, may simply be attempts to be friendly). dropping by my cubicle on their way by and talking to me while I have a client, playing their radios while I'm trying to work, or socializing with my neighbors while I need to concentrate all serve to derail me from my train of thought.

In two weeks I return to my regular job after spending a quiet two months acting in a relatively quiet and self-directed position and I'm faced with the challenge of telling my colleagues that I need their assistance and consideration in order to be more successful and efficient in my job. I don't wish to disclose my Asperger's diagnosis, but I would like to learn how to stand up for myself and ask for what I need. Any suggestions?

a kettle that works!

This. The grocery store that I work in has these strong flouresent lights, and it bothers my eyes. They tend to have that rapid flicker, and it causes me to have the beginnings of sensory overload. What stinks is whenever we have the electric go out and we have to rely on the backup generators, it's nice and dim and calming (a lot fewer lights and no music), but the customers 'don't like it.'

Alexi, what do you do at the store, if you don't mind me asking? Do you have the option of filling in once in a while and doing something different (and experimenting with different environments and interactions)? A stockroom might be quiet, the bakery or deli section might be cool if you're a foodie, a bagger might get to be around people but not have to interact with them much, which could be fun if you're a people watcher type.

I work in an office where I can occasionally fill in in a different role, and I enjoy the change in scenery. Different lighting, noise levels, neighbors, work, pace of work and daily structure all present some real challenges, but also provide some significant opportunities to learn about what my strengths and weaknesses are, and to me it's worth it.

Also, asking to try new things might be seen as showing 'interest' (or something) and this seems to be a good thing

No targets.

Another 10 days holiday.

Plus, something else to do with the culture of the organisation that I don't really want to talk about.

A better headset which keeps the noise out better. Especially when people talk right behind me.

EDIT: I forgot to say: I did get a somewhat better headset already because of my sensory issues (I stated that it makes noise when moving the head which was not wrong but not the mail reason I asked for another one). The one I have now is not bad, just not too great.