The company that turned 'disability' into an assetThe Independent: When Thorkil Sonne was told that his three-year-old son had autism, the Danish IT specialist ran the classic gamut of responses for parents of an autistic child... Few, however, go so far as to embark on a one-man mission to revolutionise society's isolating attitude to autistics by setting up a company... that has some of the world's biggest corporations, including Microsoft and Cisco Systems, queuing to buy its services...
Inspired by the talents of his son Lars, who once stunned his father by reproducing from memory a road map of Europe, Mr Sonne set up Specialisterne six years ago, realizing that the traits of 'high functioning' autistics were in demand among computer software companies.
Mr Sonne, 49, a father of three, said: 'I wanted Lars [to have] the same chances as his brothers... As long as someone with autism could feel comfortable in a workplace and have the social confidence to perform a job then they would have the skills that made them more capable than others to perform certain tasks which required large degrees of precision, focus and memory recall.'...
Among the techniques Specialisterne has perfected is the use of a complex form of Lego to assess the abilities of potential employees, whose condition means the social interaction of a formal interview is often impossible.
Mr Sonne said: 'This is not about offering cheap labour or some kind of occupational therapy. We charge market rates, our consultants receive a market salary and that is because they simply do a better job"...
The company counters any concern that it is gheottoising its workers by pointing out that 70 per cent of its staff work on the premises of the client. A Specialisterne support worker ensures that the most suitable environment -- a lack of sudden and loud noise, clear instructions and an average working week of around 25 hours -- is provided by the host...
In the meantime, Mr Sonne said that if proof were needed of the benefits of his company's work then look no further than his staff. He said: 'I have seen people transformed. One of our consultants had not worked for 24 years. Now he is testing for Cisco Systems. He finally feels he is part of society and respected. He can talk up at family gatherings. He recently got a girlfriend. Lars wants to work for us as a trainer. I see no reason why eventually those who are at lower points in the autistic spectrum should not work as well.'
