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.
To ensure their consultants achieve their full potential, the social enterprise creates a highly-planned and predictable working environment to minimise stress.
(source: BBC News - Jobs cash for people with autism in Scotland)
The above is an example of ‘niche construction’ - this is the term Dr. Thomas Armstrong uses for modifying an environment (creating a ‘niche’) to suit an individual’s unique needs. Armstrong makes the point that niche construction is what animals have done for eons - for example the bird building a nest, the beaver building a dam.
And the environmental modifications do not have to relate to work necessarily. For example, the sleep environment could be modified for an Autistic person - which might well produce better and/or more consistent performance in the workplace.
Weighted blankets have been a treatment for individuals with sensory integration issues (including those with Autism) in the past. The Protac Ball Blanket is a special type of weighted blanket which stimulates the sensory system and, thereby, contributes to create an improved bodily consciousness. The heaviest version of the Denmark-made blanket weighs 7 kg (15 pounds) and contains plastic balls that provide the strongest stimulation of the sensory system.
Here is a link to a presentation on Protac’s products, with a focus on the Ball Blanket: protac.eu is for sale!
Also, here is a link to some documentation/studies on the Ball Blanket: http://www.komikapp.se/downloadFile.asp?source=20110310151738087.pdf&virtualPath=userFiles%5C14%5C2%5C75%5C
And some testimonials focusing on users of the Blanket with Autism Spectrum Disorders:
(sources: A Key Concept for Neurodiversity: Niche Construction | Dr. Armstrong’s Blog; Protac - Ball Blanket; Protac - Autism)