%% date:: [[2023-11-15]] parent:: %% # [[Autism in Tech]] conference:: [[Agile Testing Days 2023]] speaker:: [[Dennie Declercq]] > How different can the Tech World be for people on the Autism Spectrum? > [!abstract] Abstract > Are all software developers the same? Do all software developers make the same choices? Or are some of them having more worries or just think in a unique way? Yes! of course. > > There is a group of software developers who are autistic. It can be people with an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) diagnose. But there also a lot of people with autism missing an official diagnose. Some people are just fighting more than others for getting things done. > > In this talk, I try to cover how the tech world is for me, as a person with autism. I am in tech for about 10 years. In fact, sometimes I feel differences between me and other people in tech. Besides my tech roll in life, I was responsible for a self – a support group of people with autism until 2019. Dennie is a developer on the spectrum Things that people on the spectrum struggle with - Planning/structure - Knowing which tools and resources are needed - Knowing the schedule: knowing when people are available, and when they are not. - Estimating - duration, cost, consequences, technology - What helps? - Mentoring - Team lead with autism knowledge - Having time to play with technologies - "proof of the pudding is in the eating" - Response time - People with autism have a slower brain response time: it takes time to change thoughts or plans - They have difficulties with new ideas - They have trouble handling positive and negative surprises - It takes time to get into the focus zone/flow state, but once they're there, they are there deeper - What helps? - Give time - Try to limit interruptions - Appreciate quality over quantity - Take advantage of it - Unexpected questions and demands - Can lead to avoidant behaviour - What helps? - Be patient - Give more info than needed - Don't stigmatize - Stimuli - Stimuli-response system: autistic people have difficulty functioning when there is an imbalance in energy (too much or too little external stimuli) - Hyperstimulated - solo projects - doesn't communicate as much - remote work - Hypostimulated - meetings and many projects - speaks loudly, talks a lot, asks a lot of questions - in-person coworking - Communication - Verbal and nonverbal, written and non-written - Difficulty understanding others' limits - What helps? - Plan phone calls - Text before calling - Listen if conversation starts with a word storm - Video calls can be good, but focus on nonverbal communication -