3 ms·

From the description, it sounds like the team has started excluding him based on similar communication gaps as the manager is seeing. That’s a material deficie

From the description, it sounds like the team has started excluding him based on similar communication gaps as the manager is seeing. That’s a material deficiency, that even an autistic employee is expected to fix. It’s hard; no doubt. But if you had a person for whom coding didn’t come naturally, they would still be expected to fix it even if working on the issue is harder for them than for someone else. Similarly, even though soft skills are harder for autistic people than for others, there is still a minimum standard you must meet. Alienating your entire team would count as falling below a minimum standard on teams I’ve worked on, especially if they were being avoided for work as in the OP’s example.

sshine 3y ago
OP didn't mention that the team started excluding him, or that this developer alienated an entire team. It's easy to build a narrative in which the person you have a disagreement gets painted as the incompetent. We typically do that when we've reached a conclusion and need reality to follow up.
- gemstones 3y ago
  Reposting my comment above - you only need the OP’s words and some reasonable logic to arrive at that conclusion: These people tell me HR knows it but everyone is afraid of getting sued or something so it's a don't ask don't tell situation. People simply ignored him. This doesn’t require soft skills to logic out that there is reasonable trouble. Coworkers, with a preexisting work history with this employee, know that HR is afraid of getting sued. Why would an HR department be afraid of being sued by an employee? The most likely explanation is that they want to fire them for performance and are trying to limit the likelihood of a lawsuit. Why would a coworker be able to speak to HR’s internal assessment of an employee’s ability to be fired? The most likely explanation is that they’ve gone to HR, or a manager, with problems, and the manager has asked HR if they could fire the employee for cause before. “People simply ignored him” is more ambiguous, but in the context above, I take it to mean - other coworkers want him fired, but given HR’s inaction, they are taking their own action by ignoring the coworker and working around them rather than trying to include them.
  - sshine 3y ago
    > Why would an HR department be afraid of being sued by an employee? The most likely explanation is that they want to fire them for performance and are trying to limit the likelihood of a lawsuit. Most likely, HR has had complaints from at least one person other than OP. Beyond that conclusion, you're adding to the story to make it fit your narrative. Maybe they're afraid because he is a licensed gun owner. Maybe he brought his pet iguana to work one day and used it for rubber-ducking. (Using monospace throughout your message is a little confusing.)
incomingpain 3y ago
>That’s a material deficiency, that even an autistic employee is expected to fix. Incorrect. Most countries with protections for disabled employees NEVER expect the employee to be the one fixing the problem. Wheelchair employees don't have to build ramps, you must do it for them.

sshine 3y ago

OP didn't mention that the team started excluding him, or that this developer alienated an entire team. It's easy to build a narrative in which the person you have a disagreement gets painted as the incompetent. We typically do that when we've reached a conclusion and need reality to follow up.

gemstones 3y ago
Reposting my comment above - you only need the OP’s words and some reasonable logic to arrive at that conclusion: These people tell me HR knows it but everyone is afraid of getting sued or something so it's a don't ask don't tell situation. People simply ignored him. This doesn’t require soft skills to logic out that there is reasonable trouble. Coworkers, with a preexisting work history with this employee, know that HR is afraid of getting sued. Why would an HR department be afraid of being sued by an employee? The most likely explanation is that they want to fire them for performance and are trying to limit the likelihood of a lawsuit. Why would a coworker be able to speak to HR’s internal assessment of an employee’s ability to be fired? The most likely explanation is that they’ve gone to HR, or a manager, with problems, and the manager has asked HR if they could fire the employee for cause before. “People simply ignored him” is more ambiguous, but in the context above, I take it to mean - other coworkers want him fired, but given HR’s inaction, they are taking their own action by ignoring the coworker and working around them rather than trying to include them.
- sshine 3y ago
  > Why would an HR department be afraid of being sued by an employee? The most likely explanation is that they want to fire them for performance and are trying to limit the likelihood of a lawsuit. Most likely, HR has had complaints from at least one person other than OP. Beyond that conclusion, you're adding to the story to make it fit your narrative. Maybe they're afraid because he is a licensed gun owner. Maybe he brought his pet iguana to work one day and used it for rubber-ducking. (Using monospace throughout your message is a little confusing.)

incomingpain 3y ago

>That’s a material deficiency, that even an autistic employee is expected to fix. Incorrect. Most countries with protections for disabled employees NEVER expect the employee to be the one fixing the problem. Wheelchair employees don't have to build ramps, you must do it for them.