*raises hand*

I'm high functioning ASD and am a partner in a small (24ish person) firm. It's not been easy but I think there's some advantages as well. I struggle with a lot of things others may take for granted - empathy, being able to tell a lie from the truth, tact (this being a daily point of frustration because I have none). But again, it's not all bad. I'm focused and attentive, and can sometimes see trends and patterns that my partners can't as easily. I'm likely not your first choice to bring to a client lunch, but some of the best contractors in my area will only work with my firm if I'm leading the project. The daily grind often feels like one step forward, two steps back, but I don't know that that's any different from any other principal.

F***. I just wrote something and it didn't post.

I have tried to turn my ASD into a positive.

Verbal communication has been a lifelong challenge.

I let the work speak for itself. 

When I do speak, I try to be as clear and as succinct as possible.

I went into the technical side of the profession because that required the least verbalization.

I have worked for a number of firms of various sizes in the public and private sectors in various markets.

I have my own firm, am semi-retired and work alone. I do theoritical work so all I need is a laptop.

Architecture has given me the opportunity to turn a disability into a gift.

Thank you a lot for you responses. I waited a few days to get as many answers as possible before I reply.

I can relate to the communication difficulty you experience, especially in fast-paced design environments where one needs to be highly verbally communicative to engage with other designers / clients. I have indeed identified that people with autism have oriented themselves to technical expert roles, however there are still exceptions in our field which surprise me.

One example is a principal at a starchitect firm I worked, who had clear signs of autism but was yet responsible for client engagement, leading teams, project management and design. He was perceived by most people in the firm as a rather nasty person and was hated upon, but I personally admired his high-quality skill and ability to persevere and rise to this level within our 'neurotypical' profession, being thus able to fulfill the potential of his talent despite an obvious limiting disability.

Speaking of fulfilling talents, I wish to refer my personal experience. I havepersonally had a great deal of success in design assignments & competitions during my school years, to the extend that several professors, mentors and respectable interviewers have praised my conceptual abilities and noted that I am a talented designer for my level.

However, during my first years in professional practice I had considerable difficulty competing with other entry level designers in the firms I worked, due to the fact that they were more highly gifted in communication than I was and despite my higher quality work output. I understand of course that this is largely due to my ASD, so it is a rather unfair contest from the get go. As mentioned above, I have thought of choosing a more technical path myself, since this renders itself more accommodating to someone with ASD, but the thought of having to limit myself professionally or abandon my talent is causing me frustration and depression.

Given that you are both in the senior years of your career, what advice would you give to a junior architect who has ASD which you wish you were given yourself early enough?

Do you think that it is feasible for an ASD person to still develop into a designer role or at least avoid a technical pigeonhole? What type of practice / office setting would be the environment most likely to accommodate this?

I had another reason for going into the technical side. 

I would have been frustrated doing design work for a firm. It wouldn't have been interesting enough.

I am fortunate that the ASD gifted me with a prolific imagination and a unique sensitivity to space. 

I did my own design work on the side.

There are 2 difficult areas in architecture to transition to irrespective of ASD. 

1. Residential and other buildings. 

2. Design and technical.

It is difficult to transition between them. Your best bet would be a small firm that does work in several markets.

Does your ASD give you a special talent in design you can leverage for a role? Ask to do some design work. When you interview for a job ask if you will have an opportunity to design. It is probably the most popular question.

Let the drawings, diagrams, and models do the talking.

You can enter competitions. Some of your coworkers might be interested in a team submission.

It sounds like you've got your head screwed on straight, and that's a good start.

Forget your accomplishments in school. I mean congrats, but you've now graduated and nobody cares. I also won every award, and was hired directly by the owner of a boutique firm before I'd graduated. As I wrote previously, I recognized a pattern that others didn't, and gamed the system. It has nothing to do with my design talents.

And in a way, that's what I've continued to do, though it's been more difficult as I get older, so I really have to watch what I say - I'm honest to a fault, and I continue to struggle with the realization that most people almost never want the truth. Metaphorically, my own skin is made from from 100 foot thick concrete, and I often forget that others aren't built the same (again, I have an extremely hard time being empathetic, or sympathetic, whatever the correct term is). Little things can set me off when I'm not expecting them.

Back to your questions:

Given that you are both in the senior years of your career, what advice would you give to a junior architect who has ASD which you wish you were given yourself early enough?

Hey now! I only graduated ten years ago! Ouch! In all seriousness, my advice to myself would be the same as to anybody: Get better at the things you enjoy, but also the things that don't come naturally. Architecture is a generalist profession. My wife is the exact opposite of me in many ways, and has been amazing at trying to push me out of my comfort zone, which I need (even if I hate it in the moment). Some will tell you to really focus on the things you're inclined towards, which I disagree: how do you know you enjoy or are good at something if you never give yourself a chance? That isn't the same as becoming an expert at something you don't enjoy, but rather to give yourself a chance at taking new opportunities despite the risk of discomfort along the way. Growth comes from failure just as much as success.

Do you think that it is feasible for an ASD person to still develop into a designer role or at least avoid a technical pigeonhole? What type of practice / office setting would be the environment most likely to accommodate this?

Of course it is. It's only limiting if you look at it through a very narrow lens. One of the benefits of our condition is that it often comes with a fairly accurate sense of self.  For instance, I'm not a great designer so I hired one. But building science, code, and zoning processes all come really easily to me, so I'm the office expert. Having said that, I knew I didn't want to draw for a career, so I pushed to manage projects and was very clear that my benefit to the office was not in drawing, but rather helping to improve those processes within the office. I would work with others to improve business processes, drawing standards, etc. I've actually never drawn anything on a CD set that's made it to print, but I sure know how to find the mistakes and inconsistencies for others. You're unlikely to find such opportunities at boutique firms, but mid sized and larger firms that have dedicated technical departments are more likely to value your training and experience without pigeonholing you into being a technologist for the rest of your career. You may have to leave your current firm to find opportunities, but you can absolutely be upfront about your wishes. I would suggest using positive language like "I'm looking to gain experience with leading a team," rather than "I don't want to be drawing anymore." One comes across as ambitious and direct, while the other is negative. I'm sure you're already good at choosing your words wisely.

It's very late and I hope I've made sense.... 

Hello all,

I teach architecture at high school in CT. I have sophomore student with autism.  He is very detail oriented and has strong opinions about design.
He is extremely quiet, doesn't communicate much, and gets easily distracted.  The main problem is that he is so focused on the details and making things perfect, he doesn't get any work done.  I've searched
the internet for autistic architects and couldn't find much.
I would love for this student to talk with and/or see how someone with the same diagnosis manages their career and daily routine.  We can do a virtual meeting or in-person if you are in my area.....Fairfield County, CT.  Thank you.

I can suspect a lot of my colleagues. Maybe myself as well? They are really good at problem solving and technical sklls.

It's half-joke, half-serious that everyone in this business is at least somewhere on the spectrum. It takes a certain kind of obsessive focus to succeed as an architect. Channeling that into constructive, productive behaviors and work patterns is something that takes practice and maturity. It helps if there is some kind of feedback mechanism which breaks the obsessive behaviors before they get too advanced. In my case, it was getting married halfway through architecture school. No more all-nighters. No more obsessive spiraling over fussy architecture stuff nobody but me cares about. Somebody was right there to prevent the negative stuff and let me focus on the positive. Do I still need to compulsively straighten crooked pictures on walls, even in other people's houses and public buildings? Yes. But I can stop myself and laugh about it too.

Hello, I am an architect in Phoenix, AZ and West Region VP of the National Organization of Minority Architects. We are a multidiscipline, multicultural all inclusive community based organization. www.noma.net

I am mentoring a member that is an emerging professional on the Autism Spectrum and Transgender. He is attempting to find his way through his career as typically the only ASD and LGBTQ+ in the office, meetings and other professional events.

What advice would you recommend I give him? Are you open to being contacted by him to share how you have been able to successfully navigate as someone with ASD in the design profession? My email is Gary.Nelson@noma.net. Thank you in advance for your assistance.