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Autistic strengths should be utilised to best effect

spadger

Hi,

I am the father of three kids with varying degrees of autism. My eldest is 22, has Aspergers and on a positive note has recently started his first job but it is early days as yet.

The next is 18 (also has Aspergers) and we are finding it difficult to know how to help him towards a suitable, enjoyable long term career path. The youngest is 11 (High functioning autism) and although he is doing well within the specialist education environment, I am concerned about his future prospects.

Their seems to be little real government policy regarding supporting and assisting the huge volume of unemployed ASD people into sustainable employment despite most of them wanting to be in employment. 

In addition, given the strengths ASD individuals can offer to employers given the appropriate support and training, it seems to me that society is missing out on a massive valuable untapped resource.

I have recently started to investigate in more detail what opportunities are available and this led me to discover Specialisterne (Specialists), a Danish organisation that have developed a model for assisting ASD people into sustainable, professional, enjoyable work (usually testing software and data entry). http://specialistpeople.com/

In recent years they have developed a franchise style partnership model and as such have expanded into a number of countries the nearest being Scotland. http://www.specialisternescotland.org/

Does anyone know of any similar projects running or due to start in England, particularly the North West?

Parents

  • 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? 

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  • 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? 

Children
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