Got asked by work colleague if I’m autistic

A colleague asking me whether I'd ever considered I might be autistic was a revelation! It led me to discover my true self and eventually get a diagnosis. Suddenly everything made more sense.

I remain astonished by the number of people I see on here and in RL who are incredibly obviously ND and either think no-one can tell unless they mention it or who haven't noticed. (I am NT so keep my mouth shut)

I get a bit fed up with the idea that you can’t be quirky, nerdy or creative without a diagnosis of some sort.

Not least as the children I teach with autism and adhd are severely affected and impacted by their conditions, as are their parents.

I’ve had this a few times. I’m just a creative thinker who enjoys ideas and stuff.

This is interesting. I have two people in my team, one who is autistic and has a diagnosis, and we have had chats about what works best for her. The other has never talked about it and I have no idea if he knows he is autistic. It is really obvious to me, and to the other autistic team member. In fact, she asked to work directly with him because they work in the same manner. He struggles in the job, and other colleagues are really shitty about him, largely because they expect him to work and act like them. I really want to have the chat with him, but as his kind of line manager, I know I can’t / shouldn’t. It’s a tough one! How did you feel when he first said it?

It was my female line manager. TBH I was a bit miffed to start with but then I began to explore it a bit and things started to make more sense. I can deal with criticism at work better now, for example, because I think it's my autism that makes me so sensitive to it. It still hurts a lot but I know why it hurts.