Autism

As an autistic adult I have both strengths which come from my neurodivergence and things I find challenging. All autistic people are different so here's some info and insight into what it's like for me and how you can help me if you work with me.

I am very, very organised and am almost never late.

I'm also very consistent in how I do things (hello, naming conventions!).

I will finish most projects ahead of time. I can be prone to 'hyperfocus' which can be useful. 

I have been described as "ridiculously creative" - I'm good at coming up with ideas and I can make stuff look pretty.

I work very hard but find it equally hard to relax... That should go on challenges too. 

I am really motivated and can work independently very efficiently, often when contributing to a much larger project or event. 

I feel strong personal responsibility for my work even if my contribution is for someone else’s event or project which I’m not that invested in.

I tend not to cut corners and I try to do things to a very high standard every time. 

I’m really good at documenting what I do, so if I get run over by a bus things can carry on seamlessly without me!

I sometimes find it difficult to say no. 

When I have a large amount of work to do I sometimes hold my breath and don't breath properly which can give me chest pains. 

I'm not confident with directions and finding my way. This applies inside buildings as well as outside of them. I've got a driving licence but haven't driven for a very long time because of this. 

I sometimes experience face blindness which can be awkward when it's with people I've met before.

If there aren't enough hours in the (working) day I'll often work in my own time until something is finished. This could be seen as a strength but if I have loads to do for a prolonged period I'll probably burn myself out and not tell anyone. I don’t take much time off sick and sometimes spend my weekends recovering from work.

I'm not great at expressing how I'm feeling, particularly if I'm overwhelmed. Similarly, I find it difficult to read and respond to verbal and non verbal cues from other people. 

I struggle with things that don't make logical sense or aren't fair, just or reasonable. 

I experience Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria so rarely feel like anything I do is good enough.

I'm no good at lying and I can overshare a bit. See above for an example. 

Sometimes my face doesn't 'update' to show my feelings. I can look really serious when I'm actually happy and masking can lead me to laugh when I'm actually feeling uncomfortable. If I say something is 'fine' it usually really isn’t. 

If you've got loads of stuff you want me to do, either stagger it or give me a clear set of deadlines so I can plan and manage everything I've got to do rather than plate spinning. I'm a big fan of a Kanban and visual organising systems to work collaboratively.

Let me work somewhere fairly quiet*. I get really disturbed in noisy offices and have discovered how much more productive I am working from home. If there's people constantly chatting around me I'll lose concentration and find it very difficult not to join in and waste my day going down chatter rabbit holes. *Clearly gig photography in loud environments isn't a problem for me. 

Tell me when I've done a good job. Everyone likes this whether they are neurodivergent or neurotypical and I prefer it when I'm acknowledged for my own contribution by name rather than generically being referred to as 'team'. 

Give me clear feedback; if I need to alter how I'm doing something then explain why you need the change so I can understand the specifics of why it's required. 

Let me problem solve, work out how to do things myself and have the autonomy to get on with my own work. I'm really good at getting stuff done unsupervised using my own initiative.

If I need to come into the office then give me a desk that I can work at so I know there will be a place for me. Hot-desking causes huge anxiety for me (and I prefer using my own things).

If possible, don't give me important information to process last minute. If it’s urgent then that's understandable but last minute drops of information relating to something which I've had to plan for causes me real anxiety.

Don't give me everything you want me to work on at once. This will make me feel stressed and I will try to get all of it done (to a high standard) as promptly as possible to stop myself feeling overwhelmed. This can be a dream for bosses but it leaves me exhausted and can give me chest pains.

If other team members are falling behind or can't get their work done for some reason, don't automatically reassign their backlog to me. I'll almost certainly be happy to help out, if asked, but over the years, I've sometimes ended up doing much more than my fair share because I work quickly and often find it hard to push back when automatically given more. 

I've got the stamina (and hyperfocus) to do large amounts of repetitive work really consistently but that doesn't mean I don't find it boring sometimes and would prefer to use my brain for complex thinky stuff - so make sure I get a balance of both.

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Finally, feel free to ask me what it's like to be autistic or how I'm feeling about things. For years I assumed everyone felt pretty much the same way about environmental and sensory stuff as I do - and I imagine that works both ways. Some of my autistic traits make no sense to others (or me!) but by sharing experiences we can have a better awareness of how we all tick.