The autism advantage

OVERCOMING DISABILITY: People with Asperger’s syndrome and other forms of autism often find it difficult to communicate and therefore are at a disadvantage in the workplace. But in some jobs, the condition can be an asset — for performing repetitive computer-related tasks, for example.

Aspiritech is a non-profit company in Chicago that trains autistic workers in data entry and computer-program testing. The company’s founder, whose son has autism spectrum disorder, says the idea is to provide more opportunities for those with the condition.

“They’re very focused on detail,” Brenda Weitzberg says of Asperger’s sufferers. “They’re able to do highly repetitive work, able to spot imperfections,” Weitzberg told National Public Radio.

Although people with the disorder are often highly intelligent, they frequently find themselves in low-paid, menial jobs because they lack communication skills. But Weitzberg says that work is not just a matter of payment. “It is structure to the day. It is sense of self-worth, value.”

"Work adds structure, self-worth and value." Brenda Weitzberg

Weitzberg got the idea for the company from a similar venture in Denmark called Specialisterne. The Danish company has 36 employees with autism who do software testing and data entry. “[The company] actually sees autism — the autism characteristics — as a competitive advantage,” says its founder Thorkil Sonne.

Like Weitzberg, Sonne started the company after his son was diagnosed with autism. He says his son’s opportunities have improved as a result of the firm. “I think that there’s a much more positive attitude and openness in the business sector in Denmark.”

Professor Robert Austin of the Copenhagen Business School says Specialisterne is different from many other businesses that aim to support the disabled. “It does something that a lot of other models that hope to help people don’t do,” Austin says. “It aligns the interest of the people being helped with the interest of a business.”