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

[Visionary7903]

Just as Thorkil Sonne wanted to ensure that society did not waste the untapped talents of people like his son when he decided to establish Specialisterne (‘the Specialists’ in Danish), it was a similar feeling from a parent of a child with Autism that sparked the idea for the innovative Fruits of Employment program.

Back in 2007, Heather Davis was a portfolio manager (at TIAA-CREF) and was part of a team which proposed the company should diversify its investments by purchasing farms. (TIAA-CREF is a major investment company in the United States, with assets totalling over $400 billion under its management).

Being the mother of an autistic son and knowing the vast, often untapped abilities of a uniquely capable group of people, Davis suggested that TIAA-CREF employ autistic and individuals with disabilities to support the apple harvest during picking season at the orchards:

…Davis recalled that, soon after her son was diagnosed with autism several years earlier, her ex-husband had attended a presentation on autism by Jacquelyn McCandless, M.D. During that presentation, McCandless had speculated about the possibility of adults with autism finding work in agriculture. The regular routine, reduced social interaction, and repetitive tasks all seemed like a good fit to McCandless, but she had no specific examples.

…Although she was still researching the idea, she felt it was time to get formal approval from her investment committee. Davis laughs as she remembers how that meeting went: “You can imagine what investment committees are like – a group of people sitting around and listening to people talk about investments and why they want to do them. And here I come with, ‘I want to take these farms that we have and I want to run them with an autistic workforce.’ You could have heard a pin drop in the room. It was the longest time I’d ever heard the room quiet.”

In the end, the committee decided to approve her plan, now called Fruits of Employment, as part of their social investing activities…

(sources: Fruits Of Employment Program | tcasset.org; muconf.missouri.edu/AIC2011/AutismHandouts/9.pdf)