April is World Autism Awareness Month and a relevant period to reflect on the situation and actions needed to be taken to improve the lives of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). SPF will during this month put spotlight on what we are doing to create better opportunities for employment, careers and quality of life for people with ASD.
Everyone who lives and works within the autism field knows that we are witnessing a tsunami of young people with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum coming up through the school system, and soon transitioning into the labor market. The US Centre of Decease Control (CDC) estimated recently that the number of autistic kids in the US has skyrocketed by 78% since 2000. Nowadays, one in 88 American kids has autism, according to the new figures, and one in 54 among boys. Those are facts we cannot ignore, and calls for decisive action.
Much is being done, but there is a lot to do and a long way to go – beyond early intervention and adequate & timely care, we need in particular to provide real solutions for better employment opportunities. This is what the Specialist People Foundation (SPF) are doing every day, and have set the ambitious goal of enabling one million jobs for people with autism and similar challenges. With the new CDC numbers and growth rate experienced in recent years it will not be long before 100 million or more people in the world may be in scope of the mission of SPF.
SPFs vision is a world where people are given equal opportunities in the labor market. We are deeply motivated to help tackle the enormous challenge of ensuring that people with autism and similar challenges indeed are brought into a position where they can realize their unique potential. To fulfill this aim, SPF have defined its mission to provide training, education and employment for people with autism and similar challenges through global collaboration and knowledge share based on the Specialisterne model.
Thorkil will share the experiences from Specialisterne in creating meaningful and productive jobs for people with a business profile who typically do not fit into the traditional labor market – like high functioning people with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
this potential to create exciting and meaningful jobs. It is a sustainable social solution that also helps to further develop the understanding of how we create more opportunities for everyone in society. It is exactly the type of businesses we want to help spread and develop,” she says.
Specialisterne Iceland have recently been presented with the Pioneers Award by Iceland’s National Association for People with Disabilities. The award, which is presented annually, to individuals or organizations that help break down walls for people with disabilities and thus help them to live fuller lives, was presented by Iceland’s Minister for Education, Science and Culture Katrin Jakobsdottir. Specialisterne Iceland were one of three recipients for this year’s award.
“Our plan is to model Specialisterne Minnesota as a consulting practice with a compelling portfolio of capabilities similar to that of Specialisterne Denmark,” says Hanson, a successful local businessman and the father of a child with ASD. “Like Denmark, we will assess and train people with autism and similar challenges, and then employ them as consultants providing valuable services to corporate clients in sectors including technology, IT, telecommunications and software.”