should I tell my boss...?

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that I have AS?

Good luck pal!! !!

I warned them where I work, and they were supportive, etc...

I explained the symptoms, etc.

Then about a month later, I had a bad meltdown and was almost fired!!

So, if you have customer or major employee contact, then yes warn them, if you stay to yourself 80% of the time, then you're prob. okay!!

I wouldn't. They probably wouldn't understand, and it might put ideas in their heads that you might not be up to the job.

I never tell my boss or co-workers, but then again, I've gotten good at hiding my symptoms.

If your going to say that I have AS you should be telling my boss

Serious answer:

I would advise no.

In my experience people are very negative towards us.

No. It's none of their business.

I told my boss after I got diagnosed, but I had been working there for a while and felt very comfortable with sharing the information with my coworkers. It was a very small retail store, so we were pretty close-knit. I felt I had to explain the situation to her because about a month and a half before I got the diagnosis, I had missed a week of work while I was in a mental hospital recovering from a suicide attempt. They thought it was weird that I was so depressed, but I told them I was just practical, not sad. Silly doctors. Fortunately my boss understood, probably because I was an excellent and efficient employee . Hopefully you will be able to communicate your needs to your employer even if you don't disclose your diagnosis. A lot of NTs have a few of our symptoms and generally nice people will understand that you just want to perform at your best. Good luck with this decision, I know it's hard.

I think I got my second diagnosis for ADD/HD after I started working at my current job.
Can't remember actually.

But, I did tell them because I knew it was the reason for some of my behaviours at work...
tardiness, trying to do too many things at once instead of seeing one thing through first, my impulsiveness, my forgetfulness, not taking breaks when I was supposed to because I might be hyper-focused.

In order to figure out if you should tell your boss, you need to figure out a few things first...

1. Is it relevant to your work?
2. Will they be the sort of employer who finds this an excuse to get rid of you? This also begs the question... What type of employee are you?
3. Do you have protections in your state against unfair treatment because of a diagnosis of AS?
4. How do YOU feel about a diagnosis of AS? Are you comfortable with it or will this make you feel even more uncomfortable if you tell them and you're not? What if any of your fellow workers find out, or does it matter to you?
5. Is this a high security type position where certain personality traits are screened against in the application process and this may disqualify you from certain activities if you're deemed a liability?

I actually don't know how AS and #5 (which is pretty much government jobs and certain government contractors) are dealt with.

Sounds like you are wanting to tell them maybe?

I do not believe it is some sort of ethical issue. Having AS is a personal issue as I see it.

Good luck though!

For me, it all comes down to your boss.

Normally I don't. It does carry risk and could have damaging consequences.

However, if you feel that you can trust the other person it is worth doing because it can be enormously beneficial. It provides re-assurance, a support mechanism and other benefits like acting as a bridge with other people - especially useful at times of disagreement.

You need to judge the other person's disposition very carefully however.

Kornik

I wouldn't. Ever.

Besides the fact my boss has connections at the FAA and I'd risk losing all my airman certificates, it really doesn't have any effect on my job. Sure, people probably notice strange things, but I'm not the strangest of my coworkers. I can do my job more than competently, so he doesn't need to know.

Same here. I think telling your employer about AS is a bad idea unless you absolutely have to.

I disagree with advising LKL that this is a bad idea.

As I mentioned above, there are variables which need to be considered first.

If LKL is a good employee, their boss or company is as open-minded as my place of employment, and where they live there are protections in place for 'disabilities' (Sorry, I realize you may not like this word.I know I don't like that term when used for ADD/HD), then speaking about having AS might actually help the situation.

If LKL is a mediocre (or worse) employee, the job is overseen by some uncaring, dictatorial, selfish, _______ (add whatever term you wish), boss, then perhaps it's either keep it quiet or start looking for another job.

Blanket statements like, "No, it's a bad idea" bring nothing substantial to this topic.

It is sad for me to hear those of you who have come to fear speaking of having AS.
I don't expect anyone to be THE spokesperson for AS, and take on the responsibility of educating the NT World about it, but hiding it in fear seems so terribly sad.

I like to feel that overall, I am a good employee where I work. I have my deficits, for sure, but I also have strengths that help to balance out the difficulties my employer may have with some of my behaviours.
I felt it was my responsibility to myself as well as my employer to allow them the opportunity to understand me better.
This, I hope, has allayed any concerns that I was just being lazy, uncaring, etc.
I'm still there after 5 yrs, so I think it has worked for me.

It would be interesting to hear back sometime from LKL about what they decided.

I told my boss I have AS, even though I don't have a formal diagnosis.

Shortly afterwards I was fired, basically for problems with customers caused by AS.


It would have happened eventually anyway, but I think telling him just made him realise that I was incapable of change.

Maybe I overgeneralized a bit. But in every employment situation I have ever personally been in, I stand by my statement that telling your employer about AS is a bad idea. The above is one of the reasons why. I have also seen from personal experience that employees perceived as having 'mental issues' are some of the first to go when there are layoffs. Also, they can pretty much forget about getting any sort of promotion or merit bonus.

Getting and keeping a job is hard enough. Why make it worse by letting on you have 'mental issues'?

I informed one of my coworkers I had AS, so it helped a bit. She was more than willing to help me when I needed it once she knew that I might not be able to do some of the things NTs take for granted. I got fired from there though, so I may not have been right in telling her that. But whatever, I'm used to this by now. Not many people know how to take us without thinking, oh man, psycho.

I know I got fired from that job cause of my AS tendencies as well, but theres not much I can do about it.

I personally don't tell anyone who could fire me whats going on, but its hard to pick the brown nosing coworkers out from the ones who actually care. Most of the time, I just keep quiet, and don't bother telling anyone about it. I also try and look for jobs where I know my AS tendencies will be more of a help than a hinderance.

Really, telling your boss is a personal thing, and it mainly would matter if it affects your job. If you fly a desk all day inside your hidden little cube, then it probably wont affect your job at all. But if you're having to deal with people constantly, then its probably better. It also really depends how far down the spectrum you are. Also, if you have a DX, then in the US there are protections for those with 'disabilities' (although I find AS to be an ability more than a disability) so if you tell your boss, and thats the reason he wants to fire you, he really couldn't.

But, like I said, its really up to you and how well you get along with your work enviroment.

I wouldn't tell them unless you absolutely have to. I did with my previous boss on starting my job, and wished I hadn't.

Since then he has left (moved upwards) and we have a new boss who I haven't told yet. Ah well, AS is in my personnel file anyway.