“I stopped short of adding everything to a spreadsheet with pivot tables, but only just.” As both a gardener and an autist, I appreciated this sentence so very much!
Graham, thank you. I love this piece. It made me think of someone at work. How can a non-neuro divergent person help a colleague with ASD without sacrificing business needs and realities? We just got a project done after weeks of a combination of encouragement and timeline reminders, but it has felt like pulling teeth and now I’m exhausted. Also, she’s brilliant. Also, we have many more days and projects to get through. 😔 Btw I love your writing and the podcast. ❤️
Thank you Catherine. As counterintuitive as it sounds, I think its important to support someone with ASD in a way that isn't complicit with the issues that arise. That is to say, if you take responsibility for constant reminders and encouragement you allow your colleague to abdicate responsibility for themselves, at least to some extent. Make sure you share with your colleague the ways that your working relationship affects you when it isn't running smoothly, that you think she's brilliant, and that you want to agree with her a way that you can both make the best of this unique relationship. As you infer in your comment, you will definitely have a great basket of skills between you albeit different from one another and I think people with ASD often respond well to having their strengths acknowledged and relied upon so that they don't have to think so much about what they find hard. It sounds simplistic but ask her what she'd find helpful and then tell her what you'd find helpful so that you can build a strong base of equality from which to work. This open communication is so important because her brain works differently from yours and causes her to see the world in different ways. The more you can understand one another's perspective, the easier it will be for you create an unstoppable force. I hope that's helpful, and thanks for taking the time to comment.
“I stopped short of adding everything to a spreadsheet with pivot tables, but only just.” As both a gardener and an autist, I appreciated this sentence so very much!
Yes, I love seeing things ordered in a spreadsheet…even potatoes.
But it was the pivot tables that made me laugh!
Graham, thank you. I love this piece. It made me think of someone at work. How can a non-neuro divergent person help a colleague with ASD without sacrificing business needs and realities? We just got a project done after weeks of a combination of encouragement and timeline reminders, but it has felt like pulling teeth and now I’m exhausted. Also, she’s brilliant. Also, we have many more days and projects to get through. 😔 Btw I love your writing and the podcast. ❤️
Thank you Catherine. As counterintuitive as it sounds, I think its important to support someone with ASD in a way that isn't complicit with the issues that arise. That is to say, if you take responsibility for constant reminders and encouragement you allow your colleague to abdicate responsibility for themselves, at least to some extent. Make sure you share with your colleague the ways that your working relationship affects you when it isn't running smoothly, that you think she's brilliant, and that you want to agree with her a way that you can both make the best of this unique relationship. As you infer in your comment, you will definitely have a great basket of skills between you albeit different from one another and I think people with ASD often respond well to having their strengths acknowledged and relied upon so that they don't have to think so much about what they find hard. It sounds simplistic but ask her what she'd find helpful and then tell her what you'd find helpful so that you can build a strong base of equality from which to work. This open communication is so important because her brain works differently from yours and causes her to see the world in different ways. The more you can understand one another's perspective, the easier it will be for you create an unstoppable force. I hope that's helpful, and thanks for taking the time to comment.