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

[Visionary7903]

**Specialisterne (Danish for ‘Specialists’) 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.

…Remarkably, 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…”

**(source: Better, faster… and no office politics: the company with the autistic specialists - Features, Health & Families - The Independent)

Yes an important key in ensuring vocational success is creating the conditions in the workplace that minimize disabilities and maximize abilities. The above quote is an example of what Thomas Armstrong, an award-winning author and speaker with over thirty-five years of teaching experience, calls ‘niche construction’:

…So what does the person who is a round peg have to do to fit into a square hole? Answer: Shave off enough of its wood to fit, uncomfortably, usually, into the square hole. That’s one solution. The other solution is to round off some of the square hole so that the round peg can stay a round peg and still fit in. That’s niche construction.
…Niche construction is what animals have done for eons: the bird building a nest, the beaver building a dam. They’re modifying the environment to suit their unique needs. We need to make niche construction a key tool in improving the lives of individuals with [various disorders] and other neurological conditions. Yes, there will always be the need to adapt to the way the world is, and there are medications, behavior modification programs, and other adaptational programs that can help accomplish this. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that we can also help neurodiverse individuals be who they are and still fit in.

Armstrong believes that individuals whom others regard as problematic have inner gifts that ought to be shared with the world around them - however we are not just talking here about throwing neurodiverse people into the workforce without proper support and hoping that their abilities will serve as a life raft.

Not suprisingly, Thomas Armstrong agrees with Specialisterne’s approach: see Computer Firm in Denmark Sees Autism As An Asset | Dr. Armstrong’s Blog for example.
(sources: http://thomasarmstrong.com/bio.php; A Key Concept for Neurodiversity: Niche Construction | Dr. Armstrong’s Blog)