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Training Command, Marine Corps Training & Education Command
Posted on May 11, 2018
How should I handle a situation where I think my soldier is autistic?
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I am currently re-classing and I have a soldier that just came out of boot, I am legitimately concerned my soldier is Autistic and I have no idea what to do about this situation.........
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 16
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Step 1: Relax. Truth be told, damn near everybody falls somewhere on the spectrum.
Step 2: Nothing wrong with your concerns, just don't try arm-chair diagnosis; you're not qualified, and it won't help him/her or you. No telling what the underlying problem might be.
Step 3: If his/her behavior interferes with the mission or is dangerous, do not ignore that! Talk to your chain-of-command, go to behavioral health (or see if they're willing to go with you). If they are just odd but technically and tactically proficient, continue to work with him/her soldier to soldier; even more so if you're their team leader.
Step 4: Good luck. Okay, that's not really a "step", but there you go anyway.
Step 2: Nothing wrong with your concerns, just don't try arm-chair diagnosis; you're not qualified, and it won't help him/her or you. No telling what the underlying problem might be.
Step 3: If his/her behavior interferes with the mission or is dangerous, do not ignore that! Talk to your chain-of-command, go to behavioral health (or see if they're willing to go with you). If they are just odd but technically and tactically proficient, continue to work with him/her soldier to soldier; even more so if you're their team leader.
Step 4: Good luck. Okay, that's not really a "step", but there you go anyway.
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SGT (Join to see)
>1 y
We work in a hospital laboratory and his actions puts patients lives at risk however there is very little chain of command at our location since we are both considered "students" I have been trying to talk to our coordinator here at the hospital but I have been in the army about as long as him and we both don't know what to do. My brother is autistic but thanks to great therapy has gotten better and they both act in very similar mannerisms.
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LTC David Brown
5 y
Excellent advice. Talk to the soldier to determine if he has a personal problem that maybe influencing his behavior so he can be guided to appropriate help.
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Sgt Christine Magnan
>1 y
Great advice. If you want more information without involving your chain of command or to just be better informed to advocate for your soldier contact the National Autism Association or the Autism Society. Your local United Way would possibly know of local groups. Be sure to protect the person's identity if you do not have permission to share details.
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Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Thanks for taking a look at this. Autism isn't an onset condition, it typically develops and comes out in a child shortly after birth. If a soldier is on the spectrum hopefully they are going to know it already because they have a diagnosis and have received help in throughout their school years. It would be very rare in this day and age for a family not to have recognized behaviors since early childhood and gotten assistance. Their condition is probably not something they are going to come out with openly because they have been working hard at overcoming their condition and modeling their behaviors.
Stimming - an almost involuntary urge to move - shrugging, head nodding, walking around, lack of direct eye contact & turning away while listening, lack of filtering in communications - say it as they see it with no regard to feelings, a tendency to be a loner with not much social interaction and by the book behavior - black or white obedience/adherence with no shades of gray are some signs that you may be seeing. If they have made it into the military then they are definitely high functioning meaning they are fully capable of adapting - with encouragement and sometimes repetition - and keeping up with their "typical" peers.
I have just given you the description of my 17 year old son who was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder at 3 years old. He's a junior in high school, an honor role college prep student, writes for the school newspaper, acts in the drama club and is college bound. Yes he has the "quirks" described but if you saw him in the hall or out in public you'd never think twice about him. That's after 14 years of getting him the assistance and scholastic intervention needed for him to be successful.
That is probably the background (I would hope) of the individual you are describing. As other esteemed colleagues have said, try to understand what autism is in that soldier's case - if you had 1000 people with autism, you'd have 1000 different variations of symptoms. Seek help from health professionals to that end. The last thing a higher functioning individual wants is to be treated differently where its noticeable. My son is almost defiant to his specific education provisions - getting extra time on tests, redoing work if the grade is less than 75 and having a teacher's aid available to him. He doesn't want to be treated any different than his friends Treat him just as you would every other soldier but provide them the additional help they may need with a mentor soldier.
My best to you and your soldier.
Stimming - an almost involuntary urge to move - shrugging, head nodding, walking around, lack of direct eye contact & turning away while listening, lack of filtering in communications - say it as they see it with no regard to feelings, a tendency to be a loner with not much social interaction and by the book behavior - black or white obedience/adherence with no shades of gray are some signs that you may be seeing. If they have made it into the military then they are definitely high functioning meaning they are fully capable of adapting - with encouragement and sometimes repetition - and keeping up with their "typical" peers.
I have just given you the description of my 17 year old son who was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder at 3 years old. He's a junior in high school, an honor role college prep student, writes for the school newspaper, acts in the drama club and is college bound. Yes he has the "quirks" described but if you saw him in the hall or out in public you'd never think twice about him. That's after 14 years of getting him the assistance and scholastic intervention needed for him to be successful.
That is probably the background (I would hope) of the individual you are describing. As other esteemed colleagues have said, try to understand what autism is in that soldier's case - if you had 1000 people with autism, you'd have 1000 different variations of symptoms. Seek help from health professionals to that end. The last thing a higher functioning individual wants is to be treated differently where its noticeable. My son is almost defiant to his specific education provisions - getting extra time on tests, redoing work if the grade is less than 75 and having a teacher's aid available to him. He doesn't want to be treated any different than his friends Treat him just as you would every other soldier but provide them the additional help they may need with a mentor soldier.
My best to you and your soldier.
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SGT (Join to see)
>1 y
That's exactly how my own brother is as well sir and the soldier in question has established himself very well academically and has gotten very good grades on all of his written exams he just struggles when working in the laboratory because he has a roadblock when it comes to applying what he has memorized and studied in books to his work. He has made multiple mistakes while working in the lab because he gets frustrated at the pace and when he gets a special sample that needs to be treated differently than the others he tends to freak out because he isn't used to it and will end up trying to run it like any other normal blood/serum. I wouldn't care if I was back in my old MOS seeing as artillery doesn't require much and is always straight forward, however in this current job his actions could end up putting other peoples lives in danger\
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MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca
>1 y
SGT (Join to see) - I completely agree, he needs to be in an environment where he is in his comfort zone. If you tell me son to do something he is not used to or that interrupts his routine he gets very anxious about how it will affect everything. Last week there was an event outside of school he was invited to go to and he got all flustered about missing school and assignments. His teachers got him through it, explaining he could make up the work and shouldn't miss the opportunity to go to this lunch event, but it took a few days for him to be at ease with it. I completely understand where you are coming from with that concern and it should be addressed with the chain of command to find a position that better suits his, I hate to say abilities, but his temperament and tolerance. There's a lot of us typical people who have to watch that stuff so hopefully he takes the change for what it is worth if explained correctly.
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1. Don't panic, and certainly don't make any knee-jerk decisions.
2. Learn about autism.
3. Get him/her some professional assistance, as needed.
4. Don't let anyone else complicate or take advantage of the situation.
5. Embrace the leadership challenge.
2. Learn about autism.
3. Get him/her some professional assistance, as needed.
4. Don't let anyone else complicate or take advantage of the situation.
5. Embrace the leadership challenge.
(9)
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
>1 y
EXACTLY... And There Are MANY Level Of Autism...
Probably Many Of US Are Autistic, But Were Never Diagnosed,
As It May Have Gone Totally Unnoticeable By Everyone, Even Your Doctors.
Probably Many Of US Are Autistic, But Were Never Diagnosed,
As It May Have Gone Totally Unnoticeable By Everyone, Even Your Doctors.
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