About...
...me
Somewhen around 2019 I discovered I was autistic, though I'd suspected it for some time. I've had a successful career so far, and I'm well respected for my technical expertise and I now manage a small team. I've had a long-running on-and-off relationship with generalised anxiety, which has become less off and more on over the years, and I'm hopeful that learning more about my autism and ways to work with it instead of against it will improve that.
But who are you, actually? Well, I'm not ready to disclose the autistic side of my identity publicly, so this blog is anonymous. If you know me, you might have seen me share some posts here; if that's the case you might guess who it is, and if so well done! Sorry, there's no prize.
...this blog
Autism is much better understood now than when I grew up (not long before I was born, it wasn't even recognised as a diagnosable thing), and there is a lot of support available. The internet has enabled autistic people to find each other, self-organise and share resources, and resources available from professionals are improving too, but there are still many more resources about autistic children than adults (and most of those aimed at parents of autistic kids).
One thing I've struggled to find much information on is how to thrive as an autistic manager (of both neurotypical and neurodivergent staff). Try searching for “autistic management advice” or any similar phrase and all the results will be variations on “how to manage your autistic report”, often with an emphasis on how much more challenging this will be than managing non-autistics.
Frustrated by this, I started this blog to start pulling together the few resources I could find, order my thoughts and give me somewhere to reflect, learn and maybe share what I discover with other people in a similar situation.
I hope you find it useful!