Being A Complete Assperger
(I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome/Autistic Spectrum Disorder in high school, and while I’m pretty accepting of the condition, I’m also pretty choosy about who I tell about having it. I finally feel trusting enough of a particular coworker that I tell her about my ASD. A few days after a particularly frustrating day at work, she approaches me.)
Coworker: “Hey, remember that lady who was giving you such a hard time?”
(Said lady was a patron who chewed me out for trying to enforce the “you need to pay your library fines before using a computer” rule. I tried to handle the situation as gracefully as I could before going into the back room to cry, as I don’t handle confrontation well.)
Me: “Yeah, I remember her. Is she back?”
Coworker: “I just wanted to tell you that I got her to back off by telling her you had Asperger’s.”
Me: “Why…?”
Coworker: “I didn’t know what else to do to get her to calm down. I thought it might help her understand why you acted the way you did.”
Me: “Excuse me? I did nothing wrong. I was trying to enforce the library rules and she got angry. Why did my behavior need explaining?”
Coworker: “Well, it worked; she calmed down. But I just thought you should know I told her.”
Me: “…”
(Long story short, I told my boss and she had words with said coworker. She didn’t last much longer after that. Needless to say I’m much more careful about who I tell about my autism.)
This story is part of our Autism roundup!
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
