Most campaigns to persuade companies to hire people with disabilities come across as a bit forced. The underlying message in these campaigns can usually be boiled down to “Hire someone with a disability because…it will make your company look good. Oh, and you might qualify for a minor tax credit!” It’s a weak message that most employers don’t find persuasive. But a Danish IT firm called Specialisterne actually markets itself on the strengths of its employees with disabilities. The company hires people with various forms of autism to check software code, perform data entry, and other detail-intensive tasks.
People with autism shouldn’t be pigeonholed as savants or human computers, but it’s encouraging to see a company highlight the talents of individuals who might quickly be dismissed as unemployable. Eventually, this recession will end, boomers will begin thinking about retirement, and good workers will become a scarce commodity again. There are plenty of well-educated, talented people with disabilities who are ready to pick up the slack.
