David_S

So our guy has handed in his notice ....... It will be a sad day to see him go, but looks like he's been bunking off uni & he's dug himself into a massive hole. Im guessing in his mind he had 2 options, leave as quick as possible or wait & get the sack. He has another job, but he's gone for a promising career in engineering to packing boxes in a car spares warehouse Not good news to end my thread but i tried my best with him & hopefully he took on board some things i taught him over the last 8 months. Must say since he's handed in his notice his stress / child like behaviour has dropped loads & must be a weight off his mind, but from my point of view i wonder what the future hold for him..

Hi, a little update : As ive been reading up & watching a few documentaries im starting to understand it a little bit more & can relate to situations much better now. We've still had some rather hyper afternoons in the last 2 weeks but ive found if i show less interest then it dies down quicker than before if i made more of a fuss about things. Apart from the long story telling its the split personality between "adult" & "child" thats the main thing we have nowdays. Is there any advice someone can give on how to keep him more in "adult" mode as the "child" in him rushes to the surface at any given opportunity.

Hi Lisa, well i think the problem is the way my company is run, none of my bosses know whats going on & they wouldn't win any awards for people skills in the work place! That leaves me in a difficult position as i spend lots of time with him a day & still need to get my work done & meet deadlines. hope you can understand, last thing i want to do is get him into trouble but i need an awareness from above or i could start getting into trouble myself. I think he has an idea that hes different, he has mentioned before that his mum had called him a "special boy" & hes hinted to me that he knows but doesn't know why, if that makes sense. maybe i should have pressed him more on it at the time but its abit of an awkward subject. Should i ask him ? I have no concern about him messing up the work, because hes excellent at it! i haven't had any experience with a situation like this before so initially just found it very strange, now Ive read up a little bit i can approach it with understanding. I would like to think hes happy as he is, but there's some other issues that must get him down. His dad left when he was young & he occasionally talks to him on email or the phone but he says he mainly talks to his brother - he hints about his anger there. Also his mums been diagnosed partially blind & had her drivers licence taken away aswell as being put on 6months unpaid leave from work. on top of that they have a lodger that seems to cost more to keep than what he pays. hell of a lot for him to deal with on top. Thanks for your reply Lisa, rest assured hes in good hands & i will do my best for him

Hi Tally, Yes you are right, i cant go & speculate about someone, very difficult. He's in good hands though, my other work mate & myself are prepared to help him out - he could have very easily fallen into the wrong hands as he's easily led & people can take advantage of him. I watched a video on youtube called "in my mind" & when he describes about 2 personalities one normal age the other a 6 year old that really describes what i see. keeping him calm when focused - yes, when he's got his brain working he can be as normal, but when he finds things easier that's when he slips back into the other world. Appreciate your reply.

Hello, i was looking for some advice on a situation & hopefully this is a good place to start - as im not 100% sure it is Asperger Syndrome. A new 18yr old lad started at my office last year, my section is a small office with only 3 people in my room. As he came out of his shell over the latter part of 2007 the more i began to notice some odd behaviour but i put it down at first to just an immature 18yr old as he does look young for his age. I don't really know where to start so can i make a list of the things Ive observed : * Not liking being left alone in the room * Following me around the building if I've been away for more than 5mins * Almost constant tapping/shaking of one leg sometimes both * sudden full body movement * change in voice going back to very childish tone & also childlike interests & behaviour * hyperactive in movement & speech * likes to be in control of a conversation, almost like hes the talker & we are the listener. I find it hard to get him talking about anything thats not related to him * always putting himself down & needing encouragement to do a simple task normally with a phrase like "don't like it" "I'm scared" & this would be after being asked to refill a stapler or similar.. * telling me his observations on people he sees on the bus & listing his annoyances at them & why he wanted to "smack them" but really he couldn't hurt a fly * an almost desperation to fit in with a latest thing but without really knowing how he should go about it * if i look round at him its almost like he needs to do something to put on an act, if hes standing he will normally do a little dance * noises - moooing seems to be his latest one, but usually go in phases * office humor goes right over his head, irony doesn't seem to register & i don't think he can tell the difference at someone laughing with him or at him due to his almost enjoyment in making a wally of himself. * Taking things literally, example: he produced a document for someone really quickly & they said "cor your getting slower" afterward he said "but i printed that really fast, how can be getting slow?" * clumsiness, knocking over drinks etc. bumping into things (but that may be down to his balance problem, he tells me he doesn't have normal toes) I could go on, but i think I've covered the main things here. I looked up on the web & i somehow found the Asperger wiki page. after reading it there were too many similarities to ignore but not being a doctor i though i should find out abit more. He's very good at what he's doing (trainee autocad / engineer) & exceptional at maths especially - only let down would be more practical things & anything that requires common sense - that he openly says he hasn't got any. This is the bit that's so frustrating as if he's kept focused he can remain calm, his voice stays at a lower pitch & there's nothing unusual. But seems to always let himself down & do something silly at the end. Hopefully someone can give me some advice, as its becoming very tiring for me to deal with on a daily basis for the fact i can see there something wrong here & it seems hes never had input about it before. His family life seems quite dis functional & his mother has been ill recently & i notice the spike in him when somethings happening the evening before etc.. The last point, when my boss is around hes always on best behaviour & shows no sigh of anything so I'm starting to feel isolated in what i can do, i feel so sad for the guy as he's so nice in general & there's no input hes had in the past. Thanks for your time, i really hope i can do something to help him out.