Aspiritech: What do you think of it?

[Ste11aeres]

What do you think of this company?Aspiritech - About Us They specifically hire persons with aspergers to test stuff for software organizations.

But some things makes me uneasy. It seems to further stereotypes ("people with aspergers are all computer nerds" ) And, is it another form of discrimination to not hire someone because he's NT? Also, the testers are required to have aspergers, but the managers are required to be neurotypicals. http://www.aspiritech.org/services/(Apparently we're to disabled to be in leadership)

Don't get me wrong; if they hired me I'd be glad to accept, because I really need a job!! And I know that I lost my prior jobs because of my aspergers, which I did not know I had. I was actually really really good at the last job, but some people really disliked me. As a result of that experience, I know that my AS does not limit me to stereotypical aspie fields, but it is important for people to accept me.

 

[Christian T]

I know what you mean about the reverse discrimination, but I doubt it will be very damaging to NTs if one company happens to be solely for Aspies, since their employment opportunities are often much less limited than those of an Aspie.

I'm certainly not a computer nerd, but there are many Aspies who are, and reading the mission statement...

...Our mission is to provide a path for high functioning individuals on the Autism Spectrum to realize their potential through gainful employment. We do this by leveraging their unique talents – attention to detail, superlative technical aptitude, ability to thrive in a highly repetitive task-driven work environment – and aligning those talents to the needs of the business community. Specifically, we provide competitively-priced testing services to client software development organizations...

I must say I think this is a brilliant organisation, but in order to accomplish its mission in a less "specific" way I think it should branch out into the myriad of other vocations that Aspies excel in. I'd love to join if they had a branch for linguistics or creative writing.

It can further the stereotype, but maybe the majority of Aspies are great with computers. Still our "unique talents" can be applied to many other fields, not just programming. Why should those with other interests be excluded from this wonderful place of acceptance?

 

[Ste11aeres]

I know what you mean about the reverse discrimination, but I doubt it will be very damaging to NTs if one company happens to be solely for Aspies, since their employment opportunities are often much less limited than those of an Aspie.

I'm certainly not a computer nerd, but there are many Aspies who are, and reading the mission statement...

...Our mission is to provide a path for high functioning individuals on the Autism Spectrum to realize their potential through gainful employment. We do this by leveraging their unique talents ? attention to detail, superlative technical aptitude, ability to thrive in a highly repetitive task-driven work environment ? and aligning those talents to the needs of the business community. Specifically, we provide competitively-priced testing services to client software development organizations...

I must say I think this is a brilliant organisation, but in order to accomplish its mission in a less "specific" way I think it should branch out into the myriad of other vocations that Aspies excel in. I'd love to join if they had a branch for linguistics or creative writing.

It can further the stereotype, but maybe the majority of Aspies are great with computers. Still our "unique talents" can be applied to many other fields, not just programming. Why should those with other interests be excluded from this wonderful place of acceptance?

Yes, I think I agree with your different points.
I think the most universally important thing for Aspies with regard to employment, is not that we must work in a specific field, but rather that we must find bosses and coworkers who will accept us.

But it's not like all our career paths are limited by this company. This is only one company, so they can only have the goal of offering employment to some aspies, not to all. And there are enough aspies interested in software to fill up their openings.
Overall, they are probably doing a good thing.

 

[Geordie]

I am satisfied for the level of support for IT and food and beverage placements in Singapore, where I currently live (food is a uniquely Asian obsession, whereas IT is so essential for countries from a wider perspective that IT has to be done appropriately, especially when Aspies have shown to be great coders and computer programmers). Indeed, the job placement center for Auties in Singapore involves IT or food training to Aspies.

What bothers me, though, is that some employers are not accepting of people with disabilities - especially autism. In Singapore, more than 50% of people with autism (even including people with high-functioning autism) are unemployed, much more so than people with hearing, visual or physical disabilities. And my experience had been, some firms which creates high-paying jobs with relatively high societal status do actually create barriers for highly able people with autism to even think of the finance industry, where I intend to break into. The civil service does not recruit people with autism and/or mental disorders (often a prelude to an Asperger's Syndrome, in a dozen cases we know about adult Asperger's diagnosis) as a matter of policy. Banks, hospitals and accountancy firms also ask, 'have you ever been diagnosed with a psychiatric condition'? Yes, the disabled people association spokesperson says, these industries involve risk. Life, money, etc. So you must wait and prove yourself before you be paid higher for your pay, you cannot risk a mental breakdown (which I already had).

I did the Bloomberg Aptitude Test today, and I think I did pretty ok. I also believe people with autism also have the potential to do exceptionally great in finance, given that some of us do indeed have great mathematical and logical reasoning skills. And I remember in Britain, investment firms like Goldman Sachs even offer Auties a career progression pathway in their companies. But not in Singapore.

The point is, I think Aspiritech may give others an illusion that people with autism are pretty much settled in employment. It was this way in Singapore's autism organisation, since it helped fund four successful restaurants hiring people with autism. If this is the case, with the success of computer companies and Starbucks hiring Auties etc, then what about 'the others'?

I am currently exploring and writing business plans for media companies, e.g. having a liberal paper (especially free papers) in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia that is staffed and having editorials by Aspies and Autie managers? It's time capable Aspies give a voice to the masses.

This sounds neat and these two cities need a voice from the 'left' to counter The Daily Telegraph/Herald Sun and Sydney Morning Herald/The Age, with support theater, animation, music production and film divisions. One editorial line (a more free, open and inclusive society), one media company, many forms of expression.

I was even thinking of law, finance/accountancy and other sorts of health or engineering firms, but for now, media sounds the the snazziest and 'most exciting' among all industries I can think of

Feel free to 'grab' my ideas, they should be open if they're good.

 

[Crossbreed]

There used to be a TV series based on a real person called "Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye." She was an FBI agent who got promoted because she could read lips. She could read lips because she was deaf. Other lip-readers could perform the same function, but lip-readers are more common in the deaf community.

If a job requires phenomenal focus, attention to detail and pattern sensitivity, the Aspergers community is the most intuitive place to seek out that skill set. Others can apply, too, but they will be as rare as hearing "lip-readers." It isn't discrimination. It is cost-effective recruiting.

 

[Judge]

I have mixed feelings about such things.

My fondest memories of work were when I worked for a major corporation in their software entertainment division. And many years later realizing that a great deal of the people I worked with there who were on the spectrum as well. Well more than half of everyone I seemed to come into contact with. Looking back it just seemed that I had a comfort zone in that great-paying job I never had anywhere else. At least now I think I know why.

But the demographics of it all will always make me uneasy about the notion of special "placement" for autistic people. That we ultimately constitute such a minimum of society which further enables stereotypes which could potentially and inadvertently create an underclass of workers, eerily depending on how statisticians accurately or erroneously categorize autistic productivity.

In a good economy this might be really good for us. And conversely, that in a bad economy this could potentially be really, really bad for us as well. That there is great risk in allowing yourself to potentially become a labor statistic predicated mostly on one's neurological profile.

 

[Clintos]

I love the idea of this. When my business is successful on a larger scale, I am going to hire people like me. I read somewhere that NASA is filled with people on the spectrum.