Using Autism as an Advantage

Specialisterne is a Danish word for specialists, and the name of an IT consultancy that hires a large number of employees with autism-spectrum disorders. Thorkil Sonne (his son is autistic) started the company in 2004 as a way to transform autism’s hyper-focus into a benefit rather than a problem.

Wired explains:

Turning autism into a selling point does require a little extra effort: Specialisterne employees typically complete a five-month training course, and clients must be prepared for a somewhat unusual working relationship. But once on the job, the consultants stay focused beyond the point when most minds go numb. As a result, they make far fewer mistakes. One client who hired Specialisterne workers to do data entry found that they were five to 10 times more precise than other contractors.

Sonne recently handed off day-to-day operations to start a foundation dedicated to spreading his business model. Already, companies inspired by Specialisterne have sprouted in Sweden, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Similar efforts are planned for Iceland and Scotland. “This is not cheap labor, and it’s not occupational therapy,” he says. “We simply do a better job.”

Wired: “Thorkil Sonne: Recruit Autistics”

[image by roychung1993]