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

[Visionary7903]

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)

As well as hiring an art director, the nonPareil Institute’s Board voted in a Chief Financial Officer last July. That full time volunteer (Vicky L. Hill) also has a son studying at nonPareil:

…My 23 year old son became one of those original 8 students [that started at the institute’s new facility on the Southern Methodist University campus]… He wrote a note to Dan and Gary [the nonPareil Institute’s co-founders]… where he thanks them for changing his life. No, I wasn’t involved in him writing the note. I was as stunned as Dan and Gary were when we all read it…

Hill has worked hard to increase the awareness of special needs among the general public. Two specific things that she mentions about the nonPareil Institute in her online postings (that haven’t already been mentioned before in this thread) are:

…We also use video games in our instruction. We specifically choose video games that require teamwork for success so that our autistic adults can practice skills inside games that may be difficult for them outside games.

…We would love to see this program go national - we know that adults with autism often have talents that are overlooked. We can create positive futures for them.

(sources: Vicki Hill :: Help! S-O-S for Parents; nonPareil.Institute - Practical Autism Solutions; Age of Autism Awards 2010: Local Heroes - AGE OF AUTISM; A Neurologist Makes the Case for the Video Game Model as a Learning Tool | Edutopia; PARADE Magazine’s… | Facebook)