Coworkers guide

to the Asperger
This handbook is directed to all Neurotypicals (non-autistic people) on how
to work e ciently with an Aspie in their team.

What is Aspergers Syndrome ?

Asperger is a high-functioning form of Autism. The description
Asperger is actually obsolete and Person like myself is simply on the
ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) because an exact classi cation is not
being practiced anymore. The symptoms are di erent for each person
with autism, but common among all is compulsive behaviour, social
awkwardness and a di erent speed of development.
This guide is speci cally about myself. Some topics within this manual
might be hard to comprehend or believe, but they have been chosen with
care and represent the minimum knowledge that you need to avoid
uncomfortable situations for both of us.

Due to my limited self-awareness I shall list some further common
behaviors among Autists:
limited or inappropriate social interactions
"robotic" or repetitive speech
challenges with nonverbal communication (gestures, facial
expression, etc.) coupled with average to above average verbal skills
tendency to discuss self rather than others
inability to understand social/emotional issues or nonliteral phrases
lack of eye contact or reciprocal conversation
obsession with speci c, often unusual, topics
one-sided conversations
awkward movements and/or mannerisms

Basics Advantages
I, as an autist, do have many
Logic, Location Job Title advantages. I am an
MONTH 20XX - PRESENT extremely fast learner and
Everything I do is decided on a logical level. My actions are not driven by autodidact. I carry broad
emotions. I nd it hard to argue with people on a non-logical level or knowledge about many
understand their decisions. things and I love to take a
philosophical approach to

Structure, Location Job Title many problems.

MONTH 20XX - MONTH 20XX I think out of the box and can
I live in patterns. I work best when everything is structured or de ned create solutions no one else
as a process and it doesnt change. As long as everything is running has thought of or dared to
smoothly, I stay performant. Change the process and I will need much mention.
time to adapt anew. I am trustworthy and loyal. It
is hard to gain my friendship,
Sensory overload, Location Job Title but even harder to lose it.
MONTH 20XX - MONTH 20XX

I am hypersensible to several sensoric stimuli, much more than an When in focus, I will work
average human. I cant simply ignore bright light, noise, touch etc. I much faster than many other
have no lter that allows me to ignore such things. people.

Noise blur, Location Job Title I work with great care - I try
MONTH 20XX - MONTH 20XX to deliver a perfect product.

The noise blur induces a painful headache, similar to a migraine,

which will make it seem that I fall asleep. It is e ectively more like
losing consciousness. This will last several hours. Most common trigger
are people talking simultaneously, and visual disturbances (example:
electric light). Usually I am carrying some sort of headache around me,
but the noise blur is exceptionally strong.

Focus, Location Job Title

MONTH 20XX - MONTH 20XX

I work by engaging a focus on a speci c task. It makes me extremely

productive, but if I lose focus, it is hard to regain it. I need a calm
environment and time to be able to engage the focus, which might take
some time, depending on my energy level.

Mimic, Location Job Title

MONTH 20XX - MONTH 20XX

I am lucky to have adapted to Neurotypicals and imitating their

behaviour, but I am still very di erent in many cases. You will
sometimes nd me trying to act like a neurotypical. It doesnt always
work.

What I think of Autism, Location Job Title

MONTH 20XX - MONTH 20XX

In my opinion, autism is not a sickness , disorder or disability. It is

not something that can be healed or prevented. Autism does not mean
Im retarded, nor am I disabled. An autist has a brain structure and
behaviour so very di erent from the average human, that one can not
fully understand each other. Autists might not perform well in
socialisation, but we are strong minds.

Social
The simple presence of other humans puts me at unease.

Im not simply shy. Social interaction is extremely stressful for

me, so I avoid it.
I dont get subtle hints. Be direct.
I cant establish stable eye contact, but I try to do so from time
to time.
I cant read many facial expressions. I di er between happy,
sad, neutral, angry, scared and surprised. I can guess others if
they are extreme or based on context.
If I show strange behaviour or seem malevolent or something
else is odd, tell me.
am very honest, often even to my disadvantage. This means
my critique is not always well received.
I sometimes show inappropriate reactions. If you are o ended,
tell me.
Sometimes I show no reaction at all or look away from you. This
does not mean I dont care or listen.
I will take no o ense if you are being direct to me, as long as it
is in a neutral tone.
I can get extremely stubborn if I am convinced that I am right
(due to logical reasons). If I do impose something, I am usually
good at nding reasonable compromises.
No need to worry if I dont talk to you for weeks or months.
If you want to smalltalk with me, go on. I like to make you feel
better. But dont expect me to keep the conversation going if I
am not interested in it.
When talking, I can only pick up 30% of what you say because I
cant decipher your non- verbal expressions.
I will often ask you to repeat what you said.
If you want to make 100% sure I get and remember your
message, write it out and send it to me.
Communication works best on a 1 on 1 basis. If you put me in a
3-Person Conversation without a structure, I will not hear or
remember anything.
Every conversation, also those I am not involved in or in nearby
rooms, adds to the noise blur e ect.

 Languages

Luxembourgish and German are perfect for verbal communication. It

needs little e ort to process, as they are well structured languages. I can
sometimes even follow 3-Person conversations without a headache.

English is the best language to fall back on for international teamwork.

It slows down conversation on both sides, which gives me time to
understand and structure. For docs and technical it is perfect because of
its prevalence on the internet for research purposes.

French is my worst language. I will understand at most 30% of what you

say and probably forget it all within 5 seconds. Furthermore, it causes
the noise blur within +/- 2 minutes depending on how many people are
talking. French grammar not logical to me. I do not understand most
constructed words or circumlocutions. That said, I can still understand
80 to 90% of written french with some e ort and time. If it really must
be, use simple wording and talk slowly.

O ce
The simple presence of other humans puts me at unease.

I am always on the lookout for the smallest, quietest o ce there is. Open space is not going to work for
me, as are o ces with more than 1 coworker.
This is my desk. There are many like it but this one is mine. Dont take my place or touch my stu . It is
part of my daily structure to arrange things in a speci c way.
No small-talking while we are working. If you do this, you rip me out of focus and cause the speaking
blur almost immediately. Headphones have limited use. Please get your conversations out of the room.
For short work-related stu , please try at least to keep your voices down and have a structure. If you
start a conversation while I am discussing work-related details with someone else in a quiet tone, I will
stutter and get confused.
No loud music in the o ce while Im there.
Whenever possible, keep the door shut. Keeps out the conversations from other o ces.
If someone is being hectic, I will get nervous too and cant focus.
Have some awareness of you keyboard typing noise. Its hard to suppress, but if you see your screen
shaking you know youre typing too wildly.
Bodily noises (stomach, chewing, loud breathing) are disturbances which I can not ignore.
Light shouldnt be too bright, because I am quite photosensitive. Best is some sort of occluded (ambient)
light. Direct light (ceiling lamp, sun) is bad and causes headaches.
Some ceiling lamps icker at a frequency of +/- 50hz. You might not notice it, but I do. And after a short
while it hurts so much I cant continue working. Upgrade to 60 ghz lamps or better: use occluded
daylight.
Cant work in a hot room. 20C is good. At 22C, I am already starting to feel hot, above 24 I cant work
e ciently. Room temperature scales with outdoor temperature.
I cannot bear speci c smells for a long time. Especially food smells and perfumes make me sick or cause
headaches.
Having other people watching my back or my work is extremely creepy and distracting. In order to create
focus, I need to be able to encapsulate myself.
Some vibrations make me sick. It depends on the exact frequency, but low-frequency vibrations can
cause confusion, involuntary movements, nervousness and chest pains.

Home & Transit

The simple presence of other humans puts me at unease.

I do have a family and they are my top priority.

I have ambitions that go far above simple employment. Until now, I lack the resources to ful l those
ambitions.
If anything goes wrong between my home and my workplace, I will be distraught all day long
In 80% of times, I come home with severe head pain.
I always try to nd the optimal way to use public transport, but I can not exceed 2 vehicles per journey.
I like going by foot.
I prefer trains over anything else because they have tracks and can only go 2 directions.
I cant take a ride backwards.
I get travel sickness really fast.
Unpunctuality upsets me a lot.

End note
Thank you for taking your time and understand what is di erent with me. Apart from the noise blur and other
headache stu , there is room for discussions. You should know that in many cases, I am already providing
compromises and I cant o er more.