...An autistic person who makes it through the interview faces other difficulties once in work. Autistic people are frequently hypersensitive to the everyday annoyances of office life: ringing phones and bright fluorescent lights may distress or drain them. They might get tripped up by less-than-specific instructions. Socialising can be thorny, too.
Some find their own ways of coping. Ms Williams recalls the problems of dealing with customers at a grocery where she used to work. “I was very neat and precise—I was good at stocking shelves and things. But I had a hard time when it came to talking to people, so I would just watch my colleague and try to copy her.” After her diagnosis, she also read books about Asperger’s and began asking for more social advice. “I learned that if you smile and say hello, that’s an outward sign that you want to be friends.” Before, she would avert her gaze, stay silent and agonise over why people did not like her.
Despite these drawbacks, employers who hire autistic staff are usually glad they did. Many have strengths that make them well suited to some jobs. They are unusually good at focusing, for example. When asked what he most enjoys about his job, Mr Schindler says: “Solving software-engineering problems.” His favourite hobby? “Solving software-engineering problems.”
Autistic people often enjoy repetitive tasks that others might find boring, such as updating databases, organising filing systems and fixing computers. Employers also report that autistic workers are reliable and loyal. Their desire for routine means, once they find a job that suits them well, they rarely miss work or quit.
Autistic people’s brutal honesty can be socially awkward, but it can also work to an employer’s advantage...
