Autistic strengths should be utilised to best effect

Going to give the full aspie(135 IQ) comment,, the whole economy is a specialist extraction system,, meaning all job functions have been broken down in to relative knowledge sphere and thus functional boxes due to the specialism of labour(aka the industrial revolution), for the economy to grow.  However these boxed economical sectors must diversify into further specialist boxes again and again over time(hence you have capitalism to do so) or the countries economical state diminishes on the curve(aka diminishing return),, that is why in Japan, USA someone can make a living out of dog grooming, house watching etc etc etc... so you end up with a highly specialist or the so called advanced economy. MY POINT..., is caller.   ASPERGERS IS THE HIGH FUNCTIONING SPECIALIST CONDITION, so we were made for the growth JOB MARKET. Goldman Sachs knows that and always employs Aspergers people as growth policy and that is why the USA Government are worried that there is not enough Autism to fill Silicon Valley, the brain drain. Makes you wonder, it does benefit policy(political will in roundtable circles) to have people with High functioning Autism.

Please don't thank me yet, Spadger. I only mention them because they proudly explain that they're willing to hire AS people or similar because of their strengths to the software testing industry - or at least that's the line that the site and company are giving. I was one of many who went for an interview with them via Remploy, who seemed confident that it would be a sure thing that I'd get a placement with them, leading to further training. I revised, looked up all the details I could find about software testing, and was very disappointed with the interview process. Everything had been changed on the day because the testing manager had decided to leave the company, and the offficial line is now that they are waiting to get a new testing manager. All training is being put on hold. They appear to be a great company, but it is highly unlikely that they'll be hiring in the future 6 months. The other issue is that software testing companies are often only 'hired guns' - those who are brought in on behalf of another company. The software testing companies live from contract to contract, and don't need testers until there is a product to test. It is admirable to say that a company will actively recruit people from the AS spectrum and will make sure that they work in a comfortable environment - but if there isn't a constant market for these skilled workers, what is done during the slack time? 

Many thanks for that Stormfront. I will be getting in touch with them to learn more.

Autism Works in the NE of England certainly work on this model, but as they've just recently lost their training manager, no-one will be taken on for some time. The software testing company is called SeeDirect.

Not a bean i'm afraid.

Perhaps I should invoice them do you think?

Only found out about them few days ago but thought some in the community may be interested in their project and some may even go on to benefit from using them.

From my point of view being aware they exist and understanding how they operate can only be a good thing as it may inspire others (like myself) to explore the possibilities of what else can be achieved in this area.

Any more positive contribution in this area scorpion?

How much are Specialisterne and/or Specialisterne Scotland paying you, spadger?

Definately agree that interests and skills can be adapted and utilised for many different types of employment.

Like the idea of pooling skills. I guess it is feasible to create an ASD dream team on this basis!

I think the challenge is to convince society that many unemployed ASD people have a lot to offer and this takes time. Once employers realise that ASD employees can potentially make their business more profitable then things will progress.

Before that happens though employers themselves need to be educated to understand how to utilise these skills and create an ASD compatible environment.

Even before that educators and/ or facilitators must provide a framework that allows this to happen. Specialisterne (first post) has developed such a framework and I am investigating alternatives.

Any views on these points much appreciated.

Some very interesting and thought provoking points longman

Although it is not official policy some of what you talk about already occurs but only by individual teachers or in some institutions. I agree learning good solid research skills at school benefits all and I believe it should be part of the curriculum.

My youngest son like yourself has a special interest in research into many or all topics and this enriches his life massively. 

I believe that as far as school and individual special interests go it certainly is useful for educators to be fully aware of these to provide the best possible education. As a teacher it is essential for me to know an individual special interests and skills so that I can identfy how I can utilise them to best effect. At the very least they can help motivate during learning and can often compliment other learning.

I have to agree with and substantiate scorpions point of view that if special interests are understood and utilised correctly (by learner, educator and employer) they can be implemented into a 'real world' earning potential scenario. I believe this has occurred for a number of ASD people at the organisation I referred to in my original post.

Yes I agree, so far only a relative hand full of people have benefitted from this relatively new concept but it is early days yet and that single organisations mission is to create 1 million sustainable ASD jobs. Organisations like this increase public awareness and I am hopeful that the tide will eventually turn and ASD people will be recognised as a valuable asset to employers.

Despite the failings of the past I think we should try to be positive about this progress albeit quite limited as yet.

I agree a lot more research in this area would be useful in bringing the issue to the fore and clarifying the most progressive direction to take. On a personal note I intend to carry out a feasibility study in the not to distant future to identify what can be done in my local area to benefit ASD adults seeking employment so I really value others points of view.

Yeah, I understand what you're saying longman.

I don't think there's ever going to be a one size fits all solution to this kind of thing.

I, for example, am rubbish at research.

I understand what you are saying Scorpion0x17, but the chances are, even with such skill combinations it will be hard to find remunerative employment. Yes if there is a financial basis for designing marketable software, but you are still in a limited market.

Even pooling talents, assuming individuals could work in a team effectively, has limited employment prospects.

I'm wary of citing my own experience as I'm at the able end and have had a career, albeit a struggle at times. I was diagnosed until mid-fifties, and I had to find a way of earning a living. My special interests are absorbing but not money-making (money loosing more like).

I had to adapt and it was a long drawn out process where I compromised my comfort zone to do other things. I have found though that, while there are things I would rather do, I have an aptitude for research and will research about anything. However that may just be me, and I often wonder if others on the spectrum could broaden their special interests to include other things.

I think that might be something that needed support to help people do so, and my notion is this should be tried at school, along with developing research skills. An aptitude for information gathering applied to tasks people will pay for as a service is a way into a career.  You have to be able to network, but in that sort of role you are less likely to have to socially integrate/fit-in.

By broaden I mean look at the trade-off between comfort zone and what other people want. What sort of things would you be interested in that were a bit different from what you'd rather do? What sort of things would you find uncomfortable to do? By becoming more flexible gradually being able to take on more tasks.

longman said:

someone who knows his way round the starship enterprise or is a master at certain computer wargames is not destined to be much good at real world tasks.

This is the only part of your post that I entirely disagree with, longman. I personally think no matter what the S.I. there's a way to make money from it. Someone with an in depth knowledge of the Starship Enterprise could go work for whomever it is that make Star Trek, or set up an unoffical 'everything there is to know about the Starship Enterprise' website, for example.

It may require thinking outside the box of what is a 'normal' job. But I believe it could be done in all cases.

One thing I've thought about, but which would require the kind of oranisational skills that aren't common amongst us on the spectrum, would be to pool different talents and abilities from across the community - so the 'knows everything about the Starship Enterprise' person could be paired with the 'knows everything about setting up a website' and the 'has an amazing ability to draw anything you ask him to' people, to produce the best illustrated, most in depth, and fully functional, website all about the inner workings of said starship.

I cannot answer the lattter part of your question, but that of finding and developing skills for secure employment does interest me.

I think more should be done at school to introduce greater flexibility around special interests. As this is my theory, it would be useful to hear from anyone who agrees this is possible or fundamentally disagrees. There doesn't seem to be much literature on this important topic.

The trouble with special interests is that they are too restrictive and often not in something that makes money. Also the skills to make better use of special interests need to be encouraged and developed. This may work in some contexts such as the Danish organisation you mention, but that's only providing work for a handful of people where an aptitude matches a job role.

The difficulty often manifests where people on the spectrum go to college or university to study maths or computing. It can emerge as a barrier to progress if it is assumed that an aptitude for certain number sequences indicates ability at maths, whereby abstract thinking like equations may not be an aptitude, and maths is highly theoretical rather than just number games. An aptitude for numbers might better suit accountancy. Likewise ability with certain computer games or certain types of software development may not indicate an ability to do all the things required in a computing degree.

Perhaps if some research was done on making better use of special interests, and developing this at school, the job situation might be made better. Can people work outside their special interest if encouraged to broaden their perspectives. Are there skills that can be taught in schools that enhance the ability to apply special interests.

Also special interests indicate a propensity for research and information gathering. But someone who knows his way round the starship enterprise or is a master at certain computer wargames is not destined to be much good at real world tasks. Unless the ability to mine information is developed at school so they can research more topics.