“SPECIALISTERNE” (TS - 05)

First time, I read about “SPECIALISTERNE” was in an article written by Gareth Cook ( A Pulitzer prize winner, a Columnist for Boston Globe) in New York Times.

So, what exactly “SPECIALISTERNE” is? “SPECIALISTERNE” is a company based in Denmark, which uses the services of Autistic people.  In his article “The Autism Advantage” Mr. Cook, mentions about the Company and how it manages to select people with autism and help them grow. The Company was founded by Thorkil Sonne (his son Lars was identified with Autism) who realized that corporations often look for people who are intensely focused, are careful in execution or with special skills and these exceptional skills are possessed by some of the gifted autistic people.

His realisation was correct and this can be read in an article written by Celeste Biever (in New Scientist - Savant skills may be widespread in people with autism), where she mentions that autistic people have “Savant-like skills, such as astounding memory, perfect pitch or the ability to multiply very high numbers together, …” In the same article it is stated that a study of 100 autistic adults shows that one third have skills which are superior to general population.

However, all these years, most of them were either shut within four walls of their houses or end up being failure in various facets of life with a tag “Unfit for everything”. Mr. Cook has rightly pointed out that if market can forgive peoples weaknesses, then they will rise to the level of natural gifts. Here our ability to effectively use the skills of autistic people has failed miserably. Paul Collins has rightly said “Autists are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It's that you're destroying the peg.” 

When we turn around and recollect our visit to various institutions, how many of us see people with autism, are given a chance to work with us. From my recollection, I have seen none over all this years.

The Danish meaning of “SPECIALISTERNE” is “The Specialist”. 

To have better perspective on how “SPECIALISTERNE” has impacted please follow the link:  

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/magazine/the-autism-advantage.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0