Mildly autistic an ‘untapped’ pool of work force talent

[Guest guest]

Mildly autistic an ‘untapped’ pool of work force talent

By Dee depass

Last Modified: Mar 3, 2011 01:32PM

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — Temple Grandin wants more autistic people in your

workplace. If they don’t become part of the work force, your company will lose

out.

That was the key message from Grandin, an industrial designer and fellow

“ASpie†(a term referring to the “autism spectrumâ€) who designed

Cargill’s slaughterhouses across the United States and Canada.

The noted author, animal scientist and subject of an HBO movie about autism drew

more than 1,600 corporate executives, state officials and parents to the first

annual Autism and Employment Forum at 3M earlier this month.

Cargill, 3M Co., Best Buy and the Autism Society of Minnesota sponsored the

event, which hoped to raise awareness in the workplace and improve the hiring

rates of people with autism. Only 3 percent of people with autism are currently

employed. It used to be that one in 250 people would be diagnosed with autism.

Today that number is one in 91.

“I’m convinced that this group is one of the most untapped pools of talent

we have,†said Best Buy’s Web-team vice president Holker.

Bill Buckner, senior vice president of Cargill’s animal-nutrition division,

said he first worked with Grandin more than 20 years ago when she designed

enclosed, curving and narrowing pathways that helped calm cows heading into

slaughterhouses. The design reduced animal stress and injury.

Grandin “has brought a lot of richness to my life and others. . . . She helped

us grow over the years, especially in the area of animal handling. Cargill owes

a lot to this one person. . . . She had a huge impact on our plants,†he said.

In response, “We are increasing the awareness and the employment opportunities

for people with [mild autism] and other disabilities.â€

Grandin represented not only the face of autism, but the hope of what employers

could gain if they became educated, sponsors said.

The funny, driven and autistic Grandin did not disappoint the throngs who came

to see her. People with mild autism or Asperger’s syndrome are basically

“geeks,†Grandin said. They have tremendous skills that can help

corporations solve problems, grow sales and program a company’s ways to

greatness, she said.

Silicon Valley, Hollywood, corporate labs and IT departments are often

“loaded†with well-paid individuals who live somewhere on the spectrum of

autism, Grandin said.

Many just haven’t been diagnosed yet, she said, and so don’t carry the label

of the illness, which is typically characterized by heightened intellect,

awkward social skills, black-and-white, literal reasoning, an intolerance of

noise and the inability to read facial cues or body language.

But people with the brain disorder also frequently possess a commanding grasp of

science, statistics, research and engineering. They make great innovators,

engineers, scientists and graphic designers, said Grandin. For example, her

ability to think in pictures allows her to “see†every aspect of an

industrial machine before she draws it.

“OK, businesses: So why should you hire the ASpie geek? Because they are the

ones who will solve the energy crisis,†she said.

ASpies “can be taught social skills†in the workplace. “Don’t be

subtle,†Grandin said. It’s not enough to tell the employee that the

lunchroom is open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The ASpie worker may interpret that to

mean that he is to take a two-hour lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Instead, tell him that lunch is a 30-minute time slot anytime between 11 a.m.

and 1 p.m., she said. “Be specific.â€

It’s not helpful to tell the ASpie worker “not to be rude.†Instead,

calmly explain that they shouldn’t chase that disinterested customer all over

the store.

Scripps News Service