A Different View
We are diverse and varied, and capable of doing great things—building a business, running a marathon, succeeding at a strawberry tart, or at long studies—but we all go about it differently. Some people go about it very differently, and that's okay!
My kindergarten teacher suspected I was autistic. She was right, but it wasn't until 40 years later that I put a name to my difference and felt the need for a diagnosis. Fundamentally, all collaboration is about mutual support to achieve things that are impossible alone. Whether your collaborator is autistic or not doesn't change this principle. We help each other because the project requires it. For it to work, you just need to understand one thing: a different person works differently. But in the end, it's not better, not worse, and it doesn't cost more!
This section, therefore, will be less serious than it looks. Through short anecdotes, it simply aims to give you a few keys to better understand people like me, and to collaborate just as easily as with anyone else.
To disclose or not to disclose?
For an autistic person, the best strategy is often not to talk about it, as few people understand what one is trying to explain. To illustrate what 'seeing things differently' means, let's use an analogy with colors.
Imagine that, like the 99% of non-autistic people, you perfectly distinguish green from blue, but I cannot see that difference. It's troublesome. To adapt, we develop tricks and rely on experience to compensate.
But also imagine that I can see nuances between red and violet, and you cannot. A nuance that only 1% of the population, autistic people, can perceive. Society, built by the majority, has organized itself in such a way that this nuance is irrelevant.
So, I can either spend my time hiding that I am not quite like you, or we can work with this difference, to work better together, and better appreciate one another.
When an autistic person thinks differently, it happens at a fundamental level. Even for a simple greeting, sometimes I have to think... 'Okay, I'm seeing this person for the first time today, I greet them... how... option 1: shake hands, it's back despite covid, but there's still option 2, bumping fists or elbows, option 3: 'la bise' (the cheek kiss), but be careful at work... but-- what the heck? --it's my girlfriend!' (it was...)
The brain's sense of priorities. At the Big Data convention in Paris. After a few hours, the ambient noise and the concentration required for social interactions had drained my battery quite a bit. An engaging person at a booth is presenting their company's latest project, and I'm listening intently... focused on the details... but suddenly, she stops, "Wait... Nicolas?". It still took me another moment to recognize my friend! If I run into you in an unusual context, please don't be offended; the risk that I genuinely won't recognize you exists!