'Agricultural specialisterne': rural employment revolution for those with Autism

[Visionary7903]

**“Environments based on careful scientific analysis will benefit not only those with special needs, but all user types, making our architecture more genuinely responsive to all our range of needs.”

• Magda Mostafa (2008), Associate Professor of Design at the Department of Architectural Engineering, Cairo University, Egypt**

Specialisterne (‘the Specialists’ in Danish) seeks to harness strengths that many people with Autism Spectrum Disorders possess - good attention to fine details, precision, and high tolerance for repetitive tasks. Their consultants bring the joy of work into areas where it is often missing today. The inclusiveness of having Specialisterne’s employees on client premises may have secondary, positive effects on their clients too:

…about 70 per cent of Specialisterne’s employees are stationed in client premises. I asked Sonne how easy it is for them to fit in with other working environments. “We create virtual Specialisterne environments in our clients’ offices. Everyone who will be in contact with our consultants is briefed about the conditions they require. They have to be nice to our people, avoid stressing them. In Denmark, we use a lot of irony and sarcasm, but people with autism can’t decode that. We make sure that the clients know how important it is to be direct, to outline tasks precisely and to stick to routines, particularly if any queries arise.”
“That’s how you avoid an “I only fly with Qantas” freak-out” I blurt. “Yes,” says Sonne. “We’ve never had a ‘freak-out’. In fact, saying what you mean, meaning what you say, being nice, avoiding stress are all good things in general for companies to take on board. Many have said to us that having one of our consultants has softened the atmosphere…”

(sources: http://archnet.org/gws/IJAR/8821/files_8181/2.1.09%20-m.moustafa-pp189-211.pdf; Better, faster… and no office politics: the company with the autistic specialists - Features, Health & Families - The Independent)

Indeed increased widespread adoption of inclusive, universal design based work environments, may lead to positive effects for other workers and entire workplaces, just as in the Specialisterne example above.

We can look to the Walgreens Outreach initiative as a positive model in that regard. Walgreens’ plan aimed to increase the number of people with disabilities within the Walgreens workforce and took the steps necessary to help those employees continue to be successful by incorporating a more universal, user-friendly design into the engineering of processes, software design, user interface and other systems:

…The training was designed to prepare employees for the distribution workflow and technology that would be deployed in the distribution center. In addition, the partnership, in concert with James Emmett, guided Walgreens in creating an accessible and inclusive environment. The center is fully wheelchair accessible and the bathrooms are designed to be comfortable for people with various types of disabilities. One national expert described the center’s application of universal design and built-in accommodations for people with disabilities as ‘elegant.’

The work process changes included automated guided vehicles that can be operated by people with disabilities, adjustable workstations, and a redesigned, easier-to-use computer interface. A simplified computer touch screen was developed, with fewer prompts and more descriptive pictures.

“Our screens were way too complex,” [Randy Lewis, Walgreens’ Senior Vice President of Distribution and Logistics] told Chain Store Age, an industry publication, “so we got rid of the keyboard and are using more graphics to describe the work flow.” Equipment was also modified, making it more ergonomic. The height of some workstations was also adjusted. “We made work surfaces flexible for different heights to limit the range of motions needed to do a job,” Lewis added. “We also took away some of the heavy lifting.”

“We found that the improvements actually benefit all distribution center employees,” Lewis told Chain Store Age. “It’s easier and quicker to train all employees on how to use the system. Also, some of the changes we’ve made have given us the added benefit of flexibility in that we can move people around the building more easily than in the past.” …It’s a workplace that is worker friendly to all of its employees…

(sources: http://www.maemployersummit.org/docs/Walgreens_Promising_Practice.pdf; http://www.dol.gov/odep/categories/workforce/ReadyAble/1.pdf)