[TheOperator]

Autism. So text based communication isn't impaired. Also led me to spend a lot of time on the computer so I naturally got better at using them. I send a lot of emails at work and my co-workers will usually try and deal with walkups. Writing is a strong point for me.

There's little problems with communication like having the emotional intelligence to tell when your co-workers are having a hard time and when to back off and treat them differently. I lack that which puts extra stress on them. I tend to say too much and make my team lose face and cause us political problems. So I try to compensate by doing such a good job my co-workers won't be under as much pressure to work hard and my team will be doing such a good job we won't get in shit.

[glloydell]

Some totally unsolicited advice, but have you considered writing a user manual for yourself and making it available to your management and team members? This a concept a friend/colleague of mine turned me onto and it's been a huge help for everyone involved.

It's basically just a couple of pages with brief descriptions of her communication and work styles, philosophy and approach to conflict and and communication, a list of some modes of interaction which are the most effective/productive when engaging her, and some of her blind spots which may not be apparent.

Aside from equipping coworkers with tools to interact and work with you better, it also gives them permission to engage with you in ways that, while highly effective for you, may be considered rude or socially awkward with other people.

A personal example: I've got an almost non-existent sense of smell, which means that if it's been a particularly hot day or I've been exerting myself I can occasionally get a little ripe smelling without being able to sense it. I am incredibly grateful when someone lets me know if that's the case, but I have to give them that context and permission before they're willing to say "dude yer getting smelly". Generally people wouldn't make that kind of statement for fear of being rude, but once they know that I react well to (and actively solicit) that kind of non-standard interaction it makes everyones lives easier (and significantly less stanky)

[jonplackett]

Thanks for sharing this. It's fascinating to read the article and then have such a blatant counter-view/argument/description in the comments. I've really started to like HN mostly for the comments these days.

[yarg]

Just know your limitations. I worked with a guy, somewhere on the spectrum.

He was very good at some things, but understanding other people's perspectives wasn't one of them.

He was excellent from a broad architectural perspective, but failed to acknowledge his limitations in regard to API development and user facing content.

There will always be a difficulty in understanding why it is that certain concepts are beyond our grasp, but it might not stop us from understanding that they are.