????“如果將自己的閱讀障礙和運(yùn)動(dòng)障礙視作必須忍受的殘疾，就會(huì)讓自己的精神狀況處于最糟糕的境地,，”索內(nèi)指出,。他發(fā)現(xiàn)，越是意識(shí)到自己難以啟齒,，演講的停頓時(shí)間就越長(zhǎng),。“對(duì)這一問(wèn)題一笑了之,，并承認(rèn)你所擁有的優(yōu)勢(shì),，這是一種很好的治療和健康的心態(tài)?！?/p>

????索內(nèi)表示,，當(dāng)發(fā)表演說(shuō)或演講時(shí)，他每15到30分鐘需要與一名助理交換,?！巴ǔＫ麄兡軌蚩焖傺杆俅罅啃畔⒘浚液虯DHD患者一樣,，擁有能更快運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的腦組織,，”他解釋說(shuō)，“這對(duì)觀眾來(lái)說(shuō)是個(gè)好事,，因?yàn)榭梢砸幌伦荧@得包含很多個(gè)主題的內(nèi)容。然后,，他們又回到一個(gè)緩慢的狀態(tài),，等待爆發(fā),。”

????現(xiàn)年41歲的珍?瓦恩加德納非常熱愛(ài)她的文字編輯工作,，而且做得非常出色,。不過(guò)，在畢業(yè)后的那些年,，她一直很難融入工作環(huán)境,，后來(lái)被診斷為自閉癥?！肮ぷ饕欢螘r(shí)間后,，我總是遇到社會(huì)交往方面的困擾。然后我就會(huì)找一個(gè)理由辭職,?！蓖叨骷拥录{在一封電子郵件采訪中寫(xiě)道，“我想,，如果我早點(diǎn)理解了我的神經(jīng)構(gòu)造,，就可以幫助自己找到應(yīng)對(duì)職場(chǎng)工作以及適應(yīng)環(huán)境的方法?！?/p>

????她提到,，患有自閉癥的員工精力更為集中，在社交方面浪費(fèi)的時(shí)間也不多,，而且能夠持之以恒直到任務(wù)的完成,。“我認(rèn)為,，一些公司看重這一優(yōu)勢(shì)并且積極尋求這類(lèi)人才的做法值得肯定,。我唯一的愿望就是社會(huì)對(duì)這類(lèi)人群的接納和理解能夠繼續(xù)下去，”瓦恩加德納在博客中這樣寫(xiě)道,。目前,，瓦恩加德納擔(dān)任ASAN的辦公室經(jīng)理，并且開(kāi)了一個(gè)名為Stimeyland的博客,。

????所有受訪者一致認(rèn)為,，公開(kāi)自己的自閉癥或ADHD等隱性殘疾是一個(gè)很艱難的個(gè)人決定。

????“每個(gè)人都要盤(pán)算一下,，被社會(huì)嚴(yán)重孤立的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是否會(huì)高于受到寬容接納的可能性,。”羅賓遜說(shuō),，“這就相當(dāng)于在一個(gè)滿是異性戀的辦公室里站出來(lái)說(shuō)自己是同性戀,，或是在一個(gè)全部信奉基督教的工作場(chǎng)所里承認(rèn)自己是猶太人。有人會(huì)說(shuō),，‘我要隱瞞這個(gè)問(wèn)題,?！@可能會(huì)讓你與同事漸行漸遠(yuǎn)，也可能讓你們更加融洽團(tuán)結(jié),?！?/p>

????首先你要考慮是否能夠控制自己的病情，或是找到一個(gè)變通方法,，這樣就無(wú)需提到病情,。譬如，安永的戈?duì)柕窃鴰椭晃蛔蚤]癥譜系障礙的同事設(shè)計(jì)了一份臺(tái)詞,，以提醒其他同事和客戶,，他的行為可能欠缺一些社交禮節(jié)。他會(huì)告訴其他人,，他有時(shí)會(huì)說(shuō)錯(cuò)話,，并且希望他們?cè)谒f(shuō)錯(cuò)話的時(shí)候能幫他指出來(lái)。

????“這樣一來(lái),，他一下解決了幾件事：消除了意外因素,，表現(xiàn)脆弱變得更加招人喜歡且平易近人，而且他還邀請(qǐng)其他人一起參與建立解決方案,?！备?duì)柕腔貞浀溃盁o(wú)論你有何種缺陷,，最重要的是要了解自己,，了解自己的優(yōu)勢(shì)和劣勢(shì)，并能夠在此基礎(chǔ)上作出決定,?！?/p>

????類(lèi)似的情況還有來(lái)自舊金山的40歲律師路易斯，她用幽默感和判斷力來(lái)控制自己的躁郁癥,。如果藥物導(dǎo)致她說(shuō)話出現(xiàn)結(jié)巴或是說(shuō)話困難,，她只會(huì)輕描淡寫(xiě)地說(shuō)一句：“我今天真的不能講話！”

????她將開(kāi)庭安排與情緒周期保持一致,，狂躁的情緒有助于她出庭辯護(hù),，而在情緒不可避免地崩潰之后，她又可以選擇遠(yuǎn)程辦公,。她說(shuō),，“我會(huì)在服用完藥物后觀察自己的表現(xiàn)，然后將精力最集中最充沛的時(shí)期拿來(lái)完成大量工作,，然后在沒(méi)有任何能量的時(shí)候在家辦公,。有時(shí)候，這對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)非常有用,，作為律師我可以表現(xiàn)狂熱,，只要情緒不會(huì)陷入恐慌的程度就好,。而且我還能獲得充沛的能量,，大腦可以飛速地運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn),。”

????出于對(duì)失去律師從業(yè)執(zhí)照的擔(dān)憂,，她在工作時(shí)都會(huì)將病情隱瞞,，在接受本文采訪時(shí)也要求不使用她的全名。

????62歲的教育家貝斯?貝克則表示,，她必須不斷提醒自己,，要用60%的時(shí)間傾聽(tīng)，40%的時(shí)間說(shuō)話,，這樣才能控制她自我診斷出來(lái)的阿斯伯格癥——一種自閉癥譜系障礙癥候群,。她說(shuō)，“患有這種病的人都在想盡辦法,、用盡策略熬過(guò)每一天,，在邊緣和極限狀態(tài)掙扎?！必惪四壳笆峭箍敌侵堇锲嫣m中心的一名教練和輔導(dǎo)師,，她還是國(guó)際創(chuàng)傷消除項(xiàng)目的負(fù)責(zé)人。

????如果你的隱性殘疾影響到了工作表現(xiàn),，你至少應(yīng)該考慮通知人力資源部,，他們會(huì)替你保守秘密。比如,，如果你患有癲癇癥,，一旦癲癇發(fā)作，你的雇主能夠及早準(zhǔn)備加以應(yīng)對(duì),。戈?duì)柕侵赋?，在與人力資源部交談時(shí)，應(yīng)當(dāng)以你需要何種工具,、設(shè)備以及環(huán)境來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)最佳的工作狀態(tài)作為主題,，而不應(yīng)重點(diǎn)討論你的疾病。

????健康的員工可以從神經(jīng)多樣性倡導(dǎo)者所取得的進(jìn)展中學(xué)習(xí)并受益,。人們對(duì)大腦功能和溝通偏好差異認(rèn)識(shí)的提高有助于改進(jìn)所有人的工作表現(xiàn),。

????“你能夠想象得出，當(dāng)你走進(jìn)某個(gè)工作場(chǎng)所,，大家都對(duì)自己的能力和溝通模式了然于心嗎,？”威廉瑪麗學(xué)院的伍爾夫說(shuō)道，“我們正處于這樣一種浪潮的開(kāi)端,，未來(lái)還有發(fā)展空間,?！保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：南風(fēng)

????審校：Patti

????“If I view my dyslexia and dyspraxia as a disability that must be endured, I put myself in the worst position neurologically,” says Sonnon, who finds that the more conscious he is of having trouble with word access, the longer the pauses in his speech. “It’s so therapeutic and healthy to be able to laugh at the tradeoffs and embrace the fact that you have advantages.”

????When he gives a speech or lecture, Sonnon says he trades off every 15 to 30 minutes with an assistant, “usually someone who has a rapid intensity and more rapidly firing brain organization like ADHD,” he explains. “It’s great for the audience. They get the rapid infusion of many topics at once. Then they come back to the slow, big boom.”

????Jean Winegardner, 41, loved her work as a copy editor and excelled at the job, but struggled to fit into the workplace in the years after graduate school, before she was diagnosed with autism. “The social aspects always got to me after a time and I would find a reason why I needed to quit,” Winegardner writes in an email interview. “I think that if I had understood my neurological makeup earlier, I could have found ways to help myself cope with the way workplaces work and how I could fit into them.”

????Autistic employees can be more focused, waste little time socializing, and persevere until they complete their tasks, she notes. “I think it is wonderful that some companies are actively seeking out autistic people because of their strengths. I only hope that this acceptance and understanding spreads,” writes Winegardner, who now works as ASAN’s office manager and writes a blog called Stimeyland.

????Everyone interviewed for this article agreed that disclosing an invisible disability like autism or ADHD is a challenging personal decision.

????“Every person has to decide, is the risk of severe social isolation greater than the possible greater social acceptance?” says Robison. “This is much like coming out and saying you’re gay in a straight workplace or you’re Jewish in a Christian workplace. Some people will say, ‘I can’t relate to that.’ It may drive you apart from your coworkers and it may bring you together.”

????First, consider whether you can manage your condition—or find a workaround— without naming it. For instance, EY’s Golden says she helped a colleague on the autism spectrum develop scripts to give colleagues and clients a heads up that he lacked some social graces. He told them he had a habit of sometimes saying the wrong thing and asked them to do him the favor of pointing it out, if it happened.

????“That way, he accomplished several things: he took away the surprise factor, he made himself vulnerable and therefore more likable and approachable, and he invited people to be part of the solution,” Golden recalls. “An individual with any kind of disability needs to—above all—know him or herself, what his strengths and weaknesses are, and be able to make … decisions on that basis.”

????Similarly, San Francisco lawyer Louise, 40, manages her bipolar disorder with humor and discretion. If her medication causes her to stutter or have trouble accessing a word, she says she’ll make light of it, saying, “I really can’t talk today!”

????She manages her trial schedule in keeping with her mood cycles, using the manic energy for her benefit in the run up to a hearing or trial, and then telecommuting when she inevitably crashes afterwards. “Being medicated and watching myself as I do, I use periods of high intensity and high energy to get a lot done, knowing there’s always going to be a period that I don’t have any energy and I have to work from home,” she says. “Sometimes it’s very useful for me to be manic when I’m a litigator, so long as it doesn’t tip into the panic range. I have a lot of energy; my brain moves very quickly.”

????Out of fear of losing her license to practice law, she keeps her condition a secret at work, and asked that her full name not be used in this article.

????Educator Beth Baker, 62, says she must constantly remind herself to listen 60% of the time and speak 40% of the time, to compensate for her self-diagnosed Asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. “All of us develop strategies and tactics for making it through the day and dealing with life, and dealing with the rough edges and approximations,” says Baker, a coach and facilitator based in Richland Center, Wis., and director of the International Trauma Abatement Project.

????If your invisible disability may affect your work performance, you should consider disclosing it at least to human resources, where it will stay confidential. For instance, if you have epilepsy, your employer would benefit from being prepared in case you have a seizure. The discussion with human resources should revolve around the tools, equipment, and environment you need to do your best work, not about the disability itself, Golden notes.

????Neurotypical employees can learn from and benefit from the advances made by neurodiversity advocates. An increased awareness of differences in people’s brain function and communication preferences could improve the work that everyone does.

????“Can you imagine if you went into a workplace and everyone had a sense of their abilities and their mode of interaction?” William & Mary’s Wulf says. “We’re right at the beginning of the wave. It hasn’t crested.”