Autism and dyslexia case study 1

An engineers story of their diagnosis for autism and dyslexia and how their workplace has understood their neurodiversity.

Please share your neurodiversity – diagnosed or undiagnosed, and the area of engineering or technology that you work in e.g. civil engineering.

I have a diagnosis of Dyslexia and Aspergers syndrome. I work in the electrical industry as a qualifying supervisor.

In my role I make sure we are compliant with the relevant regulations. I mentor the apprentices and I create tech talks that are delivered at our team meetings. I provide technical support in the electrical department and to other areas of the business.

What behaviours or processes do work well for you in the workplace?

I like routine, I like to know what I’m doing on each day, and I like reasonable notice of any big changes. Keeping to the same desk helps me but we have taken to having hot desks. I will mostly sit in the same hot desk if I possibly can. Good planning and good processes work well with me. You know exactly what the person expects.

What behaviours or processes do not work well for you in the workplace?

If I have planned a meeting having to suddenly swap rooms can upset the balance.

People not sticking to times for example pick up times or meeting times.

Lots of new people turning up in the office who I don’t know. It’s more I want to know what they do and who they are and what are they doing in this office.

IT frustrations, but this is a problem for everyone, there was a team call with hundreds of people and they all started messaging in the chat which created lots of “pinging” noises I found this so uncomfortable I had to leave the call and go and calm down. The next time it happened, and I asked for help in the chat, and I managed to stop the noise by going on “Do not disturb”. This stops the messages from pinging.

Undefined expectations, presuming I know what you want.

What tasks do you excel in?

Routine tasks that other people find boring. I can focus well for long periods of time on a task. I am very methodical in the way I work.

I like accuracy and detail as well as continually learning more information on technical subjects. I’m very reliable and trustworthy.

What workplace adjustments have been made to support you? If none, do you know of any that could support you?

This one isn’t an adjustment as such, but people take me as I am. Occasionally I might say something that might not be right in a particular situation, or it might not be politically correct. They all know I would never say something to offend or upset someone. My brain just works to quick sometimes and things just come out of my mouth.

To help with my dyslexia and getting around unknown places, work provide me with a satnav. I have also been shown how to set up filters on my computer monitor which help with clarity when reading and working. I also have people I can ask if I get stuck with spelling or words if needed.

If I become overwhelmed with my workload, I can speak to my boss and she will help me adjust my workload. This can be done by sorting by priority or getting someone else to help with something. I tend to take on too much and have learnt when I need to say “I can’t cope now, help me please”.

What do you want employers and colleagues of neurodivergent colleagues to know about your neurodiversity?

You won’t always know the person is struggling, they might mask it and try and cope with everything themselves. Every day I get panic feelings for no reason at all, just feeling anxious is part of who I am. I have learnt that is just the way my brain works.

Sometimes I just need more time to adjust to a new meeting place or workplace, after a few minutes my brain will have figured it out. If someone says something that you feel is offensive or wrong, check with the person what their context was. They might be seeing things from a different angle than you would.