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

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Just like with Specialisterne (‘the Specialists’ in Danish), the nonPareil Institute follows the line of thinking that many people with autism can best use their skills in an environment designed around their needs. So the founders of nonPareil created a model in which work is brought to individuals who work in an environment suited to their needs rather than forcing them to adapt to environments more suited for those without autism.
(source: nonPareil.Institute - Practical Autism Solutions)

The nonPareil Institute secured an anonymous $200,000 donation from a parent of a child with autism and used part of that money to open a small training center at Southern Methodist University’s Plano campus last September:

…Some nonPareil students have never made it past a job interview because of their disability. Many – 28 out of 40 students – have been fired from jobs, Moore said.

The job market is tough for anyone these days. But as many as 90 percent of adults with autism are unemployed, according to the Maryland-based Autism Society, an advocacy group.

The institute looks like a typical computer lab. But the monitors are arranged so that a teacher and student can work at separate computers on the same project without face-to-face contact – which can make those with autism uncomfortable…

“A lot of these guys and girls were at home alone in their rooms” before starting at the institute, Selec said. “They found that missing part of their lives. They found friends; they found hope.” Most recently, the students developed an iPad application for the Japanese soroban, otherwise known as an abacus. They hope it is the first to generate revenue for the center and students…

(source: Plano institute trains adults with autism to work in technology industry)