Can adults with autism be a valuable workforce for tech?
The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education, wrote an article pushing adults with autism to work in tech.
A growing group of educators see technology work as an ideal field for some adults with autism and hope that tech can provide a career path and a means to financial security. At the same time, employers are beginning to see advantages to hiring people with autism, many of whom have strengths that lend themselves to working well with technology, such as being able to stay focused for long periods of time and to perform repetitive tasks with accuracy. Some critics, however, say this push could pigeonhole people with autism, focusing them too much on one interest while ignoring other potential career fields.
“It’s not a pretty picture at the moment,” said David Kearon, director of adult services at Autism Speaks. “People with autism are quite capable of lots of different types of work, but they’re not given the opportunities.”
However, as the story highlights, the career landscape for adults with autism is improving:
“Microsoft launched a pilot program to hire adults with autism. SAP Software & Solutions announced that by 2020 it plans to hire 650 autistic employees, one percent of its workforce—nearly the same proportion of people with autism in the general US population. And others are following suit, seeing this community as an untapped, and potentially industrious, labor force,” according to The Hechinger Report.
Read full article here – http://qz.com/549127/should-we-be-pushing-people-with-autism-to-work-in-tech/
