Accommodation and Compliance Series: Employees with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Atypical Body Movements:

Individuals with ASD may exhibit atypical body movements such as fidgeting. Atypical body movements are sometimes called stimulatory behavior, or “stimming.” These body movements often help calm the person or assist in concentrating on tasks, but can also disturb coworkers at times.

• Provide structured breaks to create an outlet for physical activity
• Allow employee to use items such as hand-held squeeze balls and similar objects to provide sensory input or calming effect
• Allow the employee to work from home
• Schedule periodic rest breaks away from the workstation
• Review conduct policy with employee
• Provide private workspace where employee will have room to move about and not disturb others by movements such as fidgeting