I have just being informed that we have an apprentice that has just being confirmed as having autism. I know there is a wide spectrum of autism and I have asked the apprentice if he will allow us to contact his doctor.
I will give you a little information about the company and the jobs the apprentice is expected to complete. We are a bakery manufacture and the apprentice will work in all departments from confection, bread, pastry and packing departments completing a number of diverse tasks such as hand decorating confectionery to operating large plant machinery or industrial dough mixers. We obviously complete young persons risk assessment and reviews (this is how we became aware of this recent diagnose). I am after any advice regarding extra control measures I should be considering in light of this diagnose. I plan to have a meeting with the apprentice and department managers to discuss any concerns and the extra controls which maybe appropriate. Any advice grateful received

PGra,
As the father of an autistic son who is currently studying (badly) for his A levels I'll probably end up speaking from the heart on this. As you say, autism is a spectrum type issue and there are varying behaviours etc that go with that. In my opinion, talking to the lads GP will reveal nothing of any consequence and may actually be counter productive. Talk to his parents: they have at least 16 years experience of him and they know what makes him tick, what happens in certain situations, what to do or not do. (There may well be a familial tendancy in Autism so ask Dad...! carefully..!)
Some thoughts, based on my experience;
Asking do you understand des not work - the answer you are looking for is probably "Yes" so he will say "Yes"
Ask one question at a time - Two questions means there are at least four answers that may be given and each one must be considered.
On that, when you ask a question - wait for him to formulate an answer, he may well need some time to work out what his thoughts are.
If he does not answer straight away, do not rephrase the question, you're then asking two questions...
In order to test if he understands - ask him to "Explain", "demonstrate" or in some way "show" understanding.
He will very probably not engage in eye contact very well if at all - it's very strange talking to someone who will not look at you - accept it, don't bob around trying to look him in the eye.
Just because he does not look at you does not mean he is not listening.
Try to avoid noisy areas such as cafeteria's for discussions with him - noisy environments tend to be very distractiong - every conversation can be heard and every conversation will be listened to as they are all equally important.

Like I say, these are my experiences, this lad may well be very different. Ask his parents,

Jim

Autism is much more common than many people think and with over half a million people in the UK with autism (including members of our own profession), if you work for a large employer, there is a high possibility that you already have other colleagues who are on the spectrum.
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people and the world around them and unfortunately many modern methods of working does significantly disadvantage these members of our community with only 15% of adults with autism in the UK, in full-time paid employment.
There are many high-functioning members of the autistic community who have already contributed greatly to our neurotypical functioning world and as one of my safety practitioner colleagues put to me few years ago, her “university department would not function” without those colleagues who were on the autistic spectrum. History is also littered with famous people who where arguably autistic, including at least one US President.
As your AS colleague has already been developing their own NT coping mechanisms, arguably there is no point in talking to their doctor, you aught to be undertaking an AS/NT gap analysis directly with them.

thanks for advice, really useful