Asperger's on the Job

Loud noise can feel like a physical assault but even quiet sounds may be painful and annoying, such as the hum from fluorescent lights, refrigerators, ceiling fans, printers, and other equipment.
Over-stimulation from noise in the workplace, from too much conversation, chatter, machinery, alarms, announcements, computers, etc., creates confusion. It can cause people with AS to become cranky or withdrawn; cause headaches, and trigger reactions such as having to cover one’s ears; an urgent need to flee the room; feeling frozen or inert; or feeling sick, even feeling as if one’s head “would explode.” Many with AS don’t like shouters—people who talk louder and more boisterously than a situation calls for—and many of us are very soft-spoken.

People with AS have a little bit of difficulty immediately recognizing faces—even close friends, family, or partners. The usual flicker of recognition in the eyes, the smile, those things may be missing when they see you. They may look at you blankly for a moment, even several moments, before they realize who you are. By then they may be too embarrassed to say anything. This can be perplexing; you may think they have forgotten you; you may assume that they don’t like you, or are giving you the brush-off for whatever reason.