Julie D’Souza was a recent hire of Mantle Data, Inc. She was distressed as she walked toward the office of her supervisor. She had experienced some strange interactions with one of her male coworkers and felt compelled to say something about it. Dana Kilpatrick, her supervisor, had an open-door policy. Julie knocked on her door and said, “Do you have a few minutes?”

“Sure, Julie. Come on in,” said Dana. “What’s on your mind?”

“I think one of my coworkers is hitting on me, or something. It’s Rick—when I pass him in the hallway he says, ‘Whoo!,’ and he turns his head and looks at my backside. Oh, and the other day, he growled at me in the lounge. And he clicks his tongue . . .” Julie added.

“OK, that is strange,” Dana agreed. “Have you told him it makes you uncomfortable?”

“Well no, I was hoping you could give me some advice about how to handle this. I've never had a guy act like this towards me before.” Julie said.

“Let me talk to the divisional manager,” replied Dana. “He knows Rick, and I think he hired him years ago. I’ll see what he says.”

“OK, thank you,” Julie said as she left the office.

About two hours later, Dana met with the divisional manager, Rob Watkins. Rob cleared things up rather succinctly; he explained that Rick had a very mild form of Asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, as well as restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior. Although Rick was categorized as high functioning (able to carry out typical requirements of living), he did retain some quirky behavioral traits, such as involuntary movements or sounds, and awkward social interactions. But Rick was also a very talented and efficient programmer and a valuable employee of the firm. Rob was certain that Rick was not hitting on Julie but that perhaps he did like her, and seeing her might trigger some behavior that may appear to be flirty, but it was more likely a by-product of the Asperger’s.

1. Do nonverbal communication principles apply in this case?

2. The US federal laws governing physical or mental impairments would apply in this case, since a medical diagnosis was present. What should Rick’s coworkers and managers know about his condition and how to interact with him?

3. What would you recommend to Julie if you were in Dana’s position?