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I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?

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Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?

#61

Post by fein »

a_c_s wrote: post #50
fein wrote: post #9

I find it rather annoying that people like myself get lumped into this as well when such broad definitions are being used. Do I prefer to be alone/ in a small group most of the time? Hell yes! It's more exclusive and I get more work done. In a social situation, less people means more signal, less noise. Do I sometimes completely avoid social situations? Of course! But it's solely due to the fact that sometimes, I jus…

You clearly don't understand how the diagnosis of these things works. There is a spectrum of behaviors, raging from healthy to problematic. Drinking alcohol has a range too: from abstaining to enjoying in moderation to alcoholism. Neither abstaining nor moderate enjoyment are problematic. While the parallel is awkward, just as occasionally having one beer too many doesn't constitute alcoholism, occasionally avoiding…

My issue is not with the vetted characterizations of symptoms in DSM-IV, but with the nature of the original article and pseudo psychologists like some middle school counselors. This is a subject that needs to be treated with some form of scientific rigor, not feel good fluff pieces.

Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?

#62

Post by cbhl »

websitescenes wrote: post #55

Do I have Aspergers if I fit the description of one almost exactly? The author seemed to be describing me.. I am pretty socially capable and I can look people in the eye, so I don't know.

Strictly speaking, when the DSM-V comes out, no one will have Asperger's _per se_ since they've removed it (under the assumption that people will either be classified under the revised definition of Autism, or not at all).

Under the DSM-IV, one of the criteria reads: "(III) The disturbance causes clinically significant impairments in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning." -- generally, it's up to a psychiatrist's professional judgement to determine this. Sometimes it will be obvious; sometimes it won't. Don't self-diagnose.

Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?

#63

Post by mnicole »

pessimizer wrote: post #30

Asperger's doesn't particularly exist. IIRC it is being removed from the DSM-V; 99.5% of sufferers are self-diagnosed with information that they found on the internet, and sometimes have confirmed with helpful psychiatrists. The criteria seems to be that one has a terrible personality, is simultaneously high-maintenance and inconsiderate of others, thinks very highly of one's self, but lacks any other connection with…

I'm not even sure how to respond to this. For one, there's a distinct difference between Asperger's and High-Functioning Autistics, and while they may have taken it out of the DSM, it doesn't change the fact that these changes in characteristics exist and when diagnosed correctly, can still identify the subset of issues each are facing and how to respond/deal with those issues.

Secondly, people forget that autism, as a spectrum, is being studied further and further and as such, we are finding more reason to believe that it actually does affect a lot of people -- not necessarily that it is grossly misdiagnosed. Furthermore, the number of doctors knowledgeable enough in diagnosing someone at any range of the spectrum is low. As we learn more about it, we are seeing people their 20s, 30s, some even well into their 50s and 60s finally being diagnosed because they were able to adapt well-enough that it seemed nothing was wrong on the outset.

Similarly, females on the spectrum are also often misdiagnosed with anxiety, depression or eating disorders because of how it affects them, and therefore we think that autism primarily affects men even though that may not be the case at all. Society tends to prime girls at a young age to be more sociable (but doesn't frown upon them being shy either), so they are often able hide under the radar, but continue to suffer in other ways. I'm on the spectrum myself, and I've had doctors laugh at me for wanting to be tested because "I 'look' and 'act' 'normal'," to them, which is incredibly insulting. Additionally, those that are trained to detect autism are often pediatricians, not general practitioners that aren't taking into consideration the adult patient's learned-skills over time. This is often what leads people to try to figure out what is wrong with them through other means, and I don't think we should be going around telling other people who they are and aren't. There will always be hypochondriacs, but this is one of those situations where I feel like we should try to take people seriously before we write them off entirely.

So thanks for the armchair neuropsychology, but nobody needs it; we still have a lot to learn.

Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?

#64

Post by cbhl »

MoOmer wrote: post #51

If I was a person with Aspergers, I would be extremely annoyed that the term 'Aspie' is used here. Why not, 'for these people,' type of wording? Coining or perpetuating a term like that only serves to isolate anyone that might otherwise have been just a person with Aspergers.

My experience is that the use term "Aspie" divides the people I know who are diagnosed with Asperger's; it's similar to the way people are divided over the use of the word "hacker".

It has negative connotations to some, but if you are precise in the way you define the term, it can be a source of pride.

Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?

#65

Post by cbhl »

fein wrote: post #9

I find it rather annoying that people like myself get lumped into this as well when such broad definitions are being used. Do I prefer to be alone/ in a small group most of the time? Hell yes! It's more exclusive and I get more work done. In a social situation, less people means more signal, less noise. Do I sometimes completely avoid social situations? Of course! But it's solely due to the fact that sometimes, I jus…

I agree that the article perpetuates broad over-generalizations about people with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

On the other hand, if you are high-functioning enough for the advice in the article to not apply to you, I would also hope that you are high-functioning enough to tell your manager(s) and co-workers what accommodations you do and don't need.

Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?

#66

Post by onemorepassword »

kyllo wrote: post #20
hh22 wrote: post #3

As someone who was diagnosed with Aspberger syndrome, reading that article made me want to throw up. There can be significant differences between a number of people with the same diagnosis, and generalizing them all under one mocking nickname of "aspie" is disrespectful. My diagnosis is not obvious to anyone talking to me unless I were to disclose it, and I have done very well in school leadership activities; I parti…

Some of the mass media articles about Zuckerberg have just been absolutely venomous taunting about his Asperger's. You can be the most successful internet billionaire of your generation and average people will still sneer at you for having a mental disorder. The stigma against it is still incredibly strong (even though it has no connection to violent/abusive behavior). Here's one well-known example: http://gawker.com…

Despite it's sensationalist tone, this article raises certain issues that deserve to be raised.

The link between Aspergers and the infuriating (and abusive) behavior of certain tech companies seems extremely plausible.

Having Aspergers does not make someone an innocent victim, especially if they yield considerable power. People don't dislike Zuckerberg for having Asperger's, they dislike him for his behavior and policies.

Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?

#67

Post by eliasmacpherson »

a_c_s wrote: post #50
fein wrote: post #9

I find it rather annoying that people like myself get lumped into this as well when such broad definitions are being used. Do I prefer to be alone/ in a small group most of the time? Hell yes! It's more exclusive and I get more work done. In a social situation, less people means more signal, less noise. Do I sometimes completely avoid social situations? Of course! But it's solely due to the fact that sometimes, I jus…

You clearly don't understand how the diagnosis of these things works. There is a spectrum of behaviors, raging from healthy to problematic. Drinking alcohol has a range too: from abstaining to enjoying in moderation to alcoholism. Neither abstaining nor moderate enjoyment are problematic. While the parallel is awkward, just as occasionally having one beer too many doesn't constitute alcoholism, occasionally avoiding…

Perversion also has a spectrum. Calling it a spectrum allows you to talk about two people, one with an extreme condition, and another relatively normal, in the same breath. One would wonder why one would be inclined to use language like that, unprofessional almost.

Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?

#68

Post by PebblesRox »

TylerE wrote: post #52
JohnBooty wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aspergers is a relatively minor form of autism. (Not that the effects on one's life are always "minor", but it's minor compared to e.g. folks with severe autism that require assisted living) All cases are different, but those with Aspergers can learn to understand others with effort. It's not impossible for them, it just doesn't come very naturally and will perhaps require extra effort and dedication.

You're being rather tunnel-visioned about it. It's a much wider thing than just the social aspect.

It's definitely wider but I wouldn't say JohnBooty has tunnel vision. He was just responding to p6v53as's comment which was about understanding people.

Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?

#70

Post by hjay »

Reading this post makes me wonder if I have Asperger's...it pretty much described me to a tee.

Extremely uncomfortable in crowds/parties (actually, I pretty much refuse to attend parties at all), always looking at something else when speaking to someone 1 on 1, "rambling" when describing something or telling a story when someone else would only take 1~2 sentences, speaking my mind and a tendency to avoid small talk, and sensitive in terms of how I react to something (I tend to over-analyze and find a reason for everything that involves me).

That being said, does anyone know how accurate his list is?

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