Specialisterne: leveraging the unique skills of Autistics at competitive market terms

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Potential Specialisterne consultants undergo a five month process where the profile of skills of each individual trainee is assessed and then matched to potential job options. LEGO Mindstorms robot technology is used as an assessment tool. The person is led through a series of exercises by a pedagogic consultant (like Daniel Tronborg) who closely monitors the candidates’ behaviour.
(source: Harnessing the Power of ASD | Asperger Syndrome Management)

…Case study

Daniel Tronborg was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome - a form of autism - at the age of 20.

Now 21, he has now found he is able to work as part of the Specialisterne scheme in Denmark. “They only started trying to diagnose me three years ago, when I was getting depressed. It was actually the best thing that happened to me,” Mr Tronborg said as he helped launched Specialisterne Scotland in Glasgow.

He trains people at Specialisterne Denmark how to use Lego Mindstorm - an advanced Lego building kit, which allows users to develop testing and problem-solving skills that can then be used in software and website analysis. “You can invent what you want. You can make the greatest things. There is just that freedom,” he said.

Like other people with Asperger’s, Mr Tronborg has a number of skills useful in employment, including a photographic memory and an ability to pick up new languages quickly.

“The doctor said I could look at a map and then find my way without ever looking at the map again.”

(source: New company targets autistic staff - Scotsman.com Living)