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Specialisterne

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Specialisterne (The Specialists) is a Danish social innovator company using the characteristics of neurodivergent people (including autism/Asperger's, ADHD, OCD, and dyslexia) as competitive advantages in the business market.[1][2]

Specialisterne provides services such as software testing, quality control, metadata management, data conversion, and logistics, as well as in other areas such as agriculture, for businesses in 26 countries.[3][4][5] In addition, Specialisterne assesses and trains people to meet the requirements of the business sector.[6]

The company's branches, as well as the concept and name, are owned and operated by Specialisterne Foundation, with offices in 13 countries and local partnerships in others.[3]

The company provides a working environment in which skills common to neurodivergent employees – such as pattern recognition, detection of deviations, attention to detail, and extended focus – are integral, and where the role of the management and staff is to create the best possible working environment for the employees with ASD.[7]

Background

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The youngest son of Specialisterne founder Thorkil Sonne, Lars, was diagnosed as having "infantile autism, normal intelligence", at age three, denoting an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Sonne became active in the Danish Autism Association, then president of a local chapter of Autism Denmark, for three years, where he learned that people with ASD seldom have a chance to use their special skills in the labour market.[8]

After 15 years working with IT within telecommunication companies, Sonne knew the value of the skills he saw in people with ASD. With the support of his family, Sonne founded Specialisterne in 2004, based on a home mortgage and his family's belief in his vision.[9][10][11]

Today

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As of 2024, Specialisterne has over 600 employees and has operated in 26 countries, with offices in 13 of them: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, the UK, and the United States.[4] A 2017 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) stated approximately 75% of the company's 50 IT employees in Denmark had a diagnosis within the autism spectrum.[3] The head offices are in Copenhagen. The company includes training programs to access and build up personal, social and professional skills for people with ASD – no formal education or job experiences are expected. A number of appropriate strategies are used for individuals on the spectrum, including LEGO Mindstorms robot technology, helping to detect the strengths, the motivation and the development opportunities of the individual.[12]

Services offered by Specialisterne include software testing, quality control, documentation, data entry, and logistics with a high attention to detail and accuracy for customers including TDC A/S, Grundfos, KMD, CSC, SAP, Microsoft, Parexel, Hewlett-Packard, and Oracle.[13][14][15][6]

Specialisterne maintains a focus on transferring knowledge on how to turn disabilities into abilities. Speeches, workshops and courses are based on the method of positive thinking called The Dandelion Model. (The dandelion was symbolically chosen as a beneficial weed found in unexpected places, akin to the ethos of ASD including valuable skills.)[14]

In December 2008, Thorkil Sonne donated all shares of Specialisterne to the Specialist People Foundation (later Specialisterne Foundation), a nonprofit organization founded by Sonne.

In September 2009, Specialisterne started a school where youth with ASD could get an education with focus on social development and interaction with its offices. The school is funded with help from the Lego Foundation and the Danish Ministry of Education.

In August 2010, Specialisterne opened in Scotland with David Farrell-Shaw as general manager. The Scottish company was a subsidiary of the social enterprise company Community Enterprise in Scotland (CEiS), funded by £700,000 from the Scottish government; the project also received £407,036 from the Big Lottery Fund and £30,000 from Glasgow City Council.[16]

In October 2010, assisted by funding support from a European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme called the Leonardo da Vinci programme (project number 2010-1-IS1-LEO05-00579),[12] a project began to link Scotland, Denmark, Germany and Iceland. The Icelandic offering went live in January 2011.

In September 2012, Specialisterne Scotland closed, and a branch opened in the US called Specialisterne Minnesota.[17] The following year, the Minnesota organization became Specialisterne USA, based in Delaware, and the company also opened an office in Canada.[18][19] An Australian branch was founded in 2015,[20] which then formed a partnership with the Dandelion Program[9] and, in 2017, announced plans to form a partnership in New Zealand.[21] The same year, a branch was founded in Milan, Italy.[22][23] It has also opened branches in a number of other countries.[4] A similar organisation in the United States, Aspiritech, is based on the same concept.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "About us". Specialisterne Foundation. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  2. ^ Moran, Gwen (7 December 2019). "Companies Like Microsoft and Goldman Sachs Are Hiring More Neurodiverse Talent". Fortune. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c OECD/European Union (2017). "Specialisterne & SAP: A partnership for access to markets, multiple countries/Denmark". Boosting Social Enterprise Development: Good Practice Compendium (PDF). Paris: OECD Publishing. doi:10.1787/9789264268500-22-en. ISBN 978-92-64-26850-0. Archived from the original on 7 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Press Release: Specialisterne Celebrates its 20th Anniversary". Specialisterne Global. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  5. ^ Ioanna Roumeliotis (17 October 2017). "Disability in demand". CBC.
  6. ^ a b Henry, Zoe (21 May 2015). "How a Danish Company Is Helping People With Autism Get Jobs in IT and Tech". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Neurodiversity inclusion projects". Specialisterne Brasil. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Se solicitan empleados con autismo". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). 17 July 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  9. ^ a b Talevski, Julia (18 August 2015). "HP Australia and Dept of Human Services join the Dandelion Program". Arnnet. Archived from the original on 18 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  10. ^ George, Lianne (8 June 2009). "Channelling Autism". Maclean's. 122 (21). ISSN 0024-9262.
  11. ^ Boss, Suzie (Winter 2012). "Specialists' Niche". Stanford Social Innovation Review: 55–56.
  12. ^ a b "Specialisterne Foundation". European Social Fund Plus. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  13. ^ Daarbak, Torben (7 June 2007). "Med handicappet som styrke". Computerworld (in Danish). Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  14. ^ a b Austin, Robert D.; Sonne, Thorkil (19 May 2014). "The Dandelion Principle: Redesigning Work for the Innovation Economy". MIT Sloan Management Review.
  15. ^ Grimes, Patrick (2024). Recruiting Neurodivergent Candidates using the Specialisterne Approach (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2024 – via Pharma SUG.
  16. ^ "Jobs cash for people with autism in Scotland". BBC. Glasgow & West Scotland. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  17. ^ Naysmith, Stephen (28 September 2013). "Autism firm closes after two years". The Herald (Glasgow). Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  18. ^ "Autistic man's gift for IKEA assembly turns into business". The Toronto Star. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  19. ^ "About - Mind Shift Works Providing Autistic Jobs". Mind Shift Works. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Welcome to Specialisterne Australia". Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  21. ^ Kathryn Ryan (3 May 2017). "Getting people with autism into work". RNZ.
  22. ^ Giovanna Maria Fagnani (22 December 2017). "Jobs in Milan, the occasion for young autistics". RCS Mediagroup.
  23. ^ "Welcome to Specialisterne Italy".
  24. ^ Aspiritech - About

Further reading

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