Chapter Text
Garcia isn’t especially close with Reid, but she’s not blind. Anyone who spoke to him for five minutes could tell that Reid was on the spectrum, and it only took her about thirty seconds to piece together the avoidance of eye contact, the pedantic speech, and the constant stimming, from scratching idly at his face and neck to pacing incessantly. It’s not like she’s an expert, but ADHD and ASD are similar enough that she can see a lot of herself reflected in him. Based on his other plethorae of knowledge, she assumes that he knows quite a bit about autism, but simply doesn’t think to apply it to himself.
She hadn’t planned anything out in particular - she’s about to walk past his desk when she notices him blinking really hard, almost rhythmically. Garcia stops for a moment, assessing the situation. Reid’s jaw is clenched, his foot is tapping, and when his eyes are open, they look blank and glassy. She walks up to the desk and speaks quietly, trying not to startle him.
“Hey, um, Reid, can I ask you something?”
Despite her caution, Reid still jolts a bit in his seat, his eyes refocusing into their usual intense analytical stare, and he looks up at Garcia. She also notices that he makes eye contact for only a brief second before settling his gaze somewhere around her chin. He searches for his voice, clearing his throat before responding.
“Uh. Yeah, shoot.”
She considers her wording for a moment, before settling on a neutral and non-invasive question.
“What can you tell me about autistic meltdowns?”
A brief look of confusion crosses his face before he begins to speak.
“A meltdown is characterized as a loss of behavioral control due to a stressor in the person’s environment. People on the autism spectrum can suffer meltdowns at any age, not just as children. There’s actually a common misconception that meltdowns are the same thing as temper tantrums, but they are entirely different phenomena - a tantrum is a fit of crying, screaming, or other attention-seeking behavior, usually caused by an emotional disturbance, while meltdowns are in response to a feeling of being overwhelmed.”
He’s clearly in his element, but Garcia interrupts him to guide the conversation.
“What might cause a meltdown?”
“The most common reasons for autistic individuals to have meltdowns is due to either an emotional or sensory overload. Emotional overload can be caused by pretty much any stressful event or circumstance, while sensory overload can be almost anything present in the environment - common triggers include flickering or harsh lights, strong smells, loud or unexpected sounds, or even the scratching of a clothing tag.”
Garcia glances up at the fluorescent lights casting a harsh white light over their workplace. Her own office is generally dim save for the computer screens, and she wears blue-blocking glasses to help with the eyestrain. She doesn’t envy Reid his workspace.
“Alright. So, how do you help someone who might be having one?”
“Well, most meltdowns are triggered by something in the environment, so helping the person remove themselves from any unpleasant stimuli is a good start. Most autistic people are also soothed by fidgeting - “stimming,” or self-stimulating behaviors, are an important part of sensory regulation for everyone, but it’s more of a requirement or even dependency for neurodivergent people.”
Reid pauses, his eyes flicking back up to meet Garcia’s. His leg is still bouncing rapidly.
“Why do you ask?”
She has to bite back a laugh at Reid’s complete lack of self-awareness. “Oh, just curious. I, uh. I have a friend who’s on the spectrum, and she, um, gets really stressed out in public places sometimes, so I wanted to, y’know…”
Rather than continue to fumble her way through the lie, Garcia trails off. Reid raises an eyebrow, but if he knows she’s lying, he doesn’t give it away.
“Aaalright. Did you need anything else?”
Shit. Um. What’d he say? Remove them from the situation. She glances down at her watch. 12:43 PM. Perfect.
“Have you eaten yet?”
“No, why?”
“I was, uh, gonna go grab lunch at the coffee shop down the street. Did you wanna come along?” She sees the hesitation in his face and adds, “My treat!”
His face brightens, and she knows she’s made the right move. “If you insist.” He stands and follows her towards the elevator, and she notices that his jaw isn’t tensed anymore. Probably good for him to walk around rather than spiraling at his desk.
On the elevator ride down, Reid breaks their comfortable silence. “Did you know that 64% of adults in the US drink coffee every day?”
“Huh. I did not.” Garcia can tell he’s trying to make small talk in his own way, but it’s something she’s always been terrible at. However, she does know that Reid’s profusion of knowledge is under-appreciated, and she amends her response. “That’s... pretty interesting. Coffee is. Such an important part of life for a lot of people, I guess.”
Her response feels awkward and stilted, but Reid’s face lights up in excitement, and as he begins to talk about the epidemic of caffeine dependency in modern culture, Garcia makes a mental note to ask him about his interests more and to look into new lighting fixtures for the office.