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Am I the only person who finds this a complete non-article? Lots of companies hire people that have aspergers or high functioning autism. I do find it comes ac

by iuguy 15y ago

Am I the only person who finds this a complete non-article? Lots of companies hire people that have aspergers or high functioning autism. I do find it comes across as an almost exploitative and discriminatory policy of hiring people with autism, but perhaps that's more to do with reading the title as a startup company, as opposed to it being described as a non-profit in the article.

ismarc 15y ago
I worked at a speech pathology clinic that specialized in autistic spectrum disorders for a while. While nearly every patient that went through there was able to be considered highly functioning eventually, they required slow or non changing environments and structure (which could be self imposed) to stay highly functioning. Nearly all work environments that meet these requirements are low skill, physically demanding and prime for automation or moving overseas. To see a company providing the structure and consistency necessary is phenomenal. I haven't looked at what the company provides, but if it's decently paid and not factory line work, they are doing what nearly every company has failed/refused to do for a disabled, but highly varied group of people. (and I'm now off to read up and see what work they have them doing). Edit: looking through their site, they're following test plans created by others, but otherwise is absolutely awesome. The pay is on par with similar positions in the area. There's room for increased responsibility for the right workers and I couldn't tell if they only hire people diagnosed with a disorder that's considered high functioning or if they just screen to see if someone is capable.
wisty 15y ago
Very few companies hire autistics, which is why the article notes they have similar employment prospects to people who are both blind and deaf. Some aspies get hired, if they happen to be savants, or have rare and marketable skills they have developed, but savants are quite rare. Generally, people with autism are not seen as team players, and don't really thrive in chaotic workplaces. I've worked with a guy I'm pretty sure was ASD in a uni project, and it wasn't too hard - he just needed an extra 5 minutes of explanations every now and then, but was otherwise pretty good. His complete lack of eye contact was creepy, but you could say the same about people with prosthetics, and it's wrong to treat them differently. But "People skills" is more universally required than eyesight, because it's not seen as unfair to discriminate against people with unusual mannerisms, while people with obvious physical handicaps get more recognition, as their handicaps are more obvious, and aren't seen as intrinsic as personality defects. Diseases with external causes get a lot more sympathy than those that are seen as an integral part of the victim.
- aidenn0 15y ago
  The worst thing about employment for those with autism is that a lot of the jobs for "dumb people" are extremely ill suited for people with ASD, as they tend to be service related (bagging groceries being the canonical example). The last thing you want an autistic employee doing is interacting with customers, especially customers that are in a hurry.

by iuguy 15y ago

ismarc 15y ago

I worked at a speech pathology clinic that specialized in autistic spectrum disorders for a while. While nearly every patient that went through there was able to be considered highly functioning eventually, they required slow or non changing environments and structure (which could be self imposed) to stay highly functioning. Nearly all work environments that meet these requirements are low skill, physically demanding and prime for automation or moving overseas. To see a company providing the structure and consistency necessary is phenomenal. I haven't looked at what the company provides, but if it's decently paid and not factory line work, they are doing what nearly every company has failed/refused to do for a disabled, but highly varied group of people. (and I'm now off to read up and see what work they have them doing). Edit: looking through their site, they're following test plans created by others, but otherwise is absolutely awesome. The pay is on par with similar positions in the area. There's room for increased responsibility for the right workers and I couldn't tell if they only hire people diagnosed with a disorder that's considered high functioning or if they just screen to see if someone is capable.

wisty 15y ago

Very few companies hire autistics, which is why the article notes they have similar employment prospects to people who are both blind and deaf. Some aspies get hired, if they happen to be savants, or have rare and marketable skills they have developed, but savants are quite rare. Generally, people with autism are not seen as team players, and don't really thrive in chaotic workplaces. I've worked with a guy I'm pretty sure was ASD in a uni project, and it wasn't too hard - he just needed an extra 5 minutes of explanations every now and then, but was otherwise pretty good. His complete lack of eye contact was creepy, but you could say the same about people with prosthetics, and it's wrong to treat them differently. But "People skills" is more universally required than eyesight, because it's not seen as unfair to discriminate against people with unusual mannerisms, while people with obvious physical handicaps get more recognition, as their handicaps are more obvious, and aren't seen as intrinsic as personality defects. Diseases with external causes get a lot more sympathy than those that are seen as an integral part of the victim.

aidenn0 15y ago
The worst thing about employment for those with autism is that a lot of the jobs for "dumb people" are extremely ill suited for people with ASD, as they tend to be service related (bagging groceries being the canonical example). The last thing you want an autistic employee doing is interacting with customers, especially customers that are in a hurry.