Introduction
Although I’m not ungrateful for my tenure with the United States government by any means, the first year at my job was extremely difficult. Much of this had to do with the fact that I had just been diagnosed with ADHD and autism spectrum disorder not even eleven months after my agency hired me. Not only did I not know what I need to be successful at the time and was only just beginning to understand how my brain worked, but my employer did not have much experience in training autistic employees despite being one of the largest agencies within the federal government.
Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20. Armed with the knowledge of what I wish I knew then, I’m happy to offer suggestions to employers looking to make their workplaces a kinder place for autistic individuals. Training is a crucial time to implement these strategies as they can make or break the success of autistic employees.
Understanding Autism
There are few things in this world fraught with more uncertainty than being the new person at work. I once saw a meme that being the new employee at work is like being the new character of a television show that’s already been on for five seasons. I couldn’t help but laugh since I’ve yet to find anything else that quite captures the awkwardness of being the new person on the job.
For autistic individuals, the uncertainty that goes with being the new employee in the office (or on the sales floor or in the warehouse) can be amplified. As an autistic individual, I already struggle with a lack of predictability in unfamiliar situations. Faced with a new environment complete with new social landmines and new expectations to navigate can feel like a living nightmare. This is not a feeling that any employee wants to experience, especially not at a place where they might want to work for a long time.
As differently as our brains may work, we as autistic employees can be just as much of an asset to our employer as our neurotypical peers. However, our success is contingent on having the right supports in place while we learn a new role, and they can be a tremendous help in reducing some of our anxieties around being new at a job. These supports need not be complicated. With a few minor adjustments, employers can create an environment in which autistic trainees can not only learn how to perform well in the new role, but also thrive in it.
Key Considerations for Training Autistic Employees
- Customized Training Approaches
Since no two autistic people are the same, it helps to be well-versed in different learning styles to ensure your employees are receiving the most from their training. For example, many autistic people learn best with hands-on approaches. Some autistic people may learn best by following a written set of clear, simple instructions, while others might find visual demonstrations and graphics useful.
While I, personally, learn best by trying things out myself, it is important I am able to do this without an audience when I’m still learning. If I must be supervised while trying something new, it’s important to me that only the people who need to be involved in my training are the ones watching me. This is one of the many reasons why I struggled so much in my early days with the federal government. When I made phone calls to customers, it was often done in an open-floor office, with many people spectating and listening. This created tremendous anxiety for me and impacted my inability to concentrate on the task. When we were forced to work from home during the pandemic, I suddenly lost sixty-nine spectators to my daily training phone calls, something that provided me the relief I needed to be able to focus on learning my job.
- Clear Communication
Although all employees benefit from clear communication, it is especially important for autistic employees. Clearly communicating the expectations and rules of the job early on is crucial for our ongoing success, and can save us from making costly and embarrassing mistakes. If there are any exceptions to the rules, these also must be things that are stated with us early on since we as autistic individuals tend to perceive rules in black and white.
Three months into my job with the federal government, I was told all customers seeking in-person services must have a valid photo ID. The same applies to customers seeking services by mail (they must send us an original photo ID that we would mail back to the customer once the transaction was complete). We were not permitted to accept a photocopy. A social worker mailed us a photocopy of her work ID. Since I was not aware that social workers and public officials are exempt from the rule stating all customers must submit an original photo ID and not a photocopy, I denied the social worker’s application.
Needless to say, I was furious with those training me for not making me aware of this exception, especially since the mistake cost valuable time to both our agency and the one the social worker represented. If the exception to the rule had been explained to me from the start, the mistake would have been avoided.
- Creating a Supportive Environment
For many autistic people (myself included), having a designated go-to person can be tremendously helpful. When I worked for the federal government, I was lucky to have a wonderfully patient mentor who was available to answer my questions. She also provided feedback in a way that gave me a chance to improve while encouraging me to keep going. My mentor also guided me in the right direction and taught me how to navigate the complex policy manuals and legal guides that informed a lot of the work I did.
You as a manager may be too busy to directly supervise your new autistic employee, which can be completely understandable depending on the size of your organization. In that case, consider matching the trainee with a more experienced employee who can serve as their guide as they become better acquainted with the job. However, keep in mind that not all mentee/mentor pairings will be a perfect match at first.
When I was learning the complex legal policies associated with my role, I was paired with a mentor who had a “tough love” approach to mentorship. My mentor spent so much time telling me what I was doing wrong (and often did so in a tone that felt very belittling) that I lost much of my motivation to want to continue improving and learning my job. After all, what was the point in getting better if I was just doing everything wrong, anyway? While some people do respond best to a frank, no-nonsense style to training, I am not one of them.
I was eventually assigned a new mentor who complimented me on things I was doing well and that she wanted to see me continue doing on top of offering me suggestions for improvement. This gave me the motivation to continue learning and getting better. I’m pleased to report that a few months after I was given a new mentor, I improved so much that I was granted a promotion!
- Facilitating Social Support
When I say social support, I do not necessarily mean forcing your new employees to socialize at the water cooler on Monday morning or mandating Friday night after-work cocktails for all employees. In fact, I am suggestion quite the opposite. Although I appreciate it if an invitation is extended to me to socialize with my coworkers (being offered the invitation at all is so important to helping me feel like I belong at my job), I may not always have the energy to accept it. Managers can help their new autistic employees feel included by extending invitations to socialize, but also acknowledging the refusal of those invitations with grace and without any reprisal or punishments.
Managers can also facilitate social support by expecting it from their entire team. This includes the demand that members of the team conduct themselves professionally at all times, especially when one of their teammates is still learning the job.
For example, there have been instances where my coworkers have berated me in front of customers over mistakes I had made. Sometimes they would berate me so severely that I would go mute and become unable to speak, or they would trigger me into a meltdown. It goes without saying that this is not an acceptable way for anyone to be spoken to, regardless of their neurotype.
I’m happy to say I did eventually choose to report this behavior to the manager, who took my concerns very seriously. At our next office-wide meeting, she (very gently) admonished the team for their lack of patience and professionalism when working with newer employees.
- Accommodations and Flexibility
Conversations about accommodations should be happening early, and the lines of communication should always remain open. Your new autistic employee may not know what it is they need to be successful right away (and that’s normal, especially for those who may have been diagnosed as adults). While you as the manager are certainly not expected to know what accommodations your new employee needs, it’s important to be flexible. Just because your new employee may not need accommodations or know what they need right away does not mean they will never need accommodations.
A year after I was hired by the federal government, I gained a new supervisor. He became my new boss five months after I received my ADHD and autism diagnosis. While the PsyD that diagnosed me had wonderful suggestions for accommodations that would have been useful if I were still in school, he didn’t have much advice for things I should be asking for within the context of my job. Those were things I had to discover for myself largely through trial and error (and also with the help of a good occupational therapist and an amazing autism-informed job coach). However, my boss assured me that he would be happy to help me implement whatever accommodations I needed whenever I was ready to have that conversation with him. That was a promise he kept for as long as he was my boss.
If your new autistic employee isn’t sure what accommodations they need, it’s not necessary to take it upon yourself to figure it out for them. However, you can guide them in the right direction by referring them to the Job Accommodation Network’s website which has a list of lots of potential accommodations an employee might request.
Conclusion
Training a new employee on the autism spectrum does not have to be complicated. It also does not have to be a burden on management. By having a basic understanding of autism spectrum disorder, making some simple adjustments, and opening the lines of communication, managers can foster an environment in which their autistic employees can learn the job with confidence. With the right modifications and supports in place, we can learn to not only do a job well, but we can shine in the role we were hired for.