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Autism As a Job Requirement

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Sounds to good to be true? It is still real:

SAP AG, the biggest business-management software maker, will start employing more people with autism as software testers, programmers and in data management.

SAP is forming an alliance with Specialisterne, a foundation to promote employment for autistic people in technology industries, and will find jobs for those with the disorder as it adds programs around the world, the Walldorf, Germany-based company said in a statement yesterday.

“SAP sees a potential competitive advantage to leveraging the unique talents of people with autism, while also helping them to secure meaningful employment,’’ the company said.

You see? The world needs us.

23 responses to “Autism As a Job Requirement”

  1. Tim Avatar
    Tim

    Having worked with and programmed for several SAP products, I can tell you that I feel sorry for each and every one of them. Most SAP products are bloated messes of age old code written by hundreds of different programmers each with at least 15 different coding styles. Working with it is incredibly messy, counterintuitive and confusing.

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    1. Lear Avatar
      Lear

      I guess this is about the reality on all big software packages, and perhaps with all organizations and projects where large number of individuals are involved. Dealing with that complexity is the challenge!

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  2. Lear Avatar
    Lear

    Yeah, I think they excel in math and programming jobs and they love them too. I’d be concerned though that staying in their confort zone might not actually be as benefitial, and ideal as it looks.
    To be honest I don’t know how far can an autist change?

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      The real question is how far does an autistic want to change? Among those I have met, becoming mainstream, so to say, is not a goal.

      To give an example, I spent the entire last year trying to develop my desire for sociability. And it was definitely doable. However, I discovered that all I find as a result of the effort are petty squabbles, endless drama, and boredom, boredom, boredom. The benefits to me are minimal, but the amount of time I waste just to feel bored is not justified.

      Gosh, why is it that ALL people seem to want to talk about is how to figure the world out on the basis of completely imaginary differences between men and women, Americans and Europeans, racial groups, etc.?

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      1. Lear Avatar
        Lear

        I didn’t think you need any more sociability? a teacher role seems already quite outside of the comfort zone of an autistic? was that your case or did it feel natural?

        That’s the kind of change I would suggest autistics to take, not really try to become a party animal, or chit-chat with everyone they meet.

        In my case I felt programming jobs adapted quite well to my nature in the past, however, I think they sort of limited me in certain ways.

        I never felt comfortable enough to make any real friends and think I missed things like having someone to help me solve stupid everyday problems,
        and have conversations that could have help me release stress and every day tension.

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        1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
          bloggerclarissa

          Teaching often attracts autistics because it’s scheduled communication with a very well-defined hierarchy and very clear roles. I don’t have to guess, for instance, when it’s my turn to speak when I’m teaching. Because it’s my turn whenever I say so. 🙂

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        2. bloggerclarissa Avatar
          bloggerclarissa

          “I never felt comfortable enough to make any real friends and think I missed things like having someone to help me solve stupid everyday problems,
          and have conversations that could have help me release stress and every day tension.”

          – I’m finding that it is a lot easier for an autistic to do all that online. I’ve had to seek information on the most basic issues of organizing my daily existence. How many towels does a person need in life? How often should they be changed? How do you know it’s time to go to sleep? If you have a new lightbulb and need to change the one that burned out, what is teh sequence of steps? It was a lot easier to just find out online than freak people out by asking in person.

          What one did before the Internet is a mystery.

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      2. Lear Avatar
        Lear

        “I don’t have to guess, for instance, when it’s my turn to speak when I’m teaching. Because it’s my turn whenever I say so. ” I see why the blog format works so well for you 😉

        “It was a lot easier to just find out online than freak people out by asking in person.”

        For me the experience it’s been different. I tend to try to figure out everything by myself and can build very complicated models for everyday problems. I can look up on the internet and get literally get tangled up in the web. Many times just asking someone I get a simple answer that works.
        So, in my case, I’m glad I ask people more than I used to. Then I’m not quite sure I’m autistic so not sure that would help them too.

        “What one did before the Internet is a mystery.”

        But yeah, the internet’s been a lifesaver for many other things that were impossible to figure out on your own or simply relying on your friends.

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        1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
          bloggerclarissa

          ” I see why the blog format works so well for you”

          – EXACTLY!!! And this is why I hate talking on the phone. People never seem to be done talking. You think their utterance is over and it’s time for yours but it’s never true!

          “I tend to try to figure out everything by myself and can build very complicated models for everyday problems.”

          – I’ve done that, too, actually.

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  3. Leah Jane Avatar
    Leah Jane

    I hope people realize that autistics are talented at so much more than maths and computers, and this positive attitude carries over into other fields like academia! 🙂

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      Well, there are already many of us on campuses. a lot more than in other places, I’d say. The problem is, most people are still afraid to identify as an autistic openly. I did last year and since then, about a dozen people confessed to be in private and as a big secret that they also were or thought they were.

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  4. Roberto Severino Avatar
    Roberto Severino

    Something about this just doesn’t feel right to me. What if the company had wanted people who had ADHD or something like that? It’s great that they want smart people who are also autistic, but it just seems a bit strange advertising something that’s considered to be a disorder as a job requirement. I certainly don’t feel any special because of what I have and I care about being judged based on merit, not disorder if that makes sense.

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      It’s only the unenlightened that see our way of being as a disorder. But it’s simply a way of being. A ballet company hires people who are very slender and can bend in all sorts of way. An opera company hires people with impossibly strong voices. An athletic club wants people who run freakishly fast. A restaurant seeks sommeliers with an abnormally sensitive palate. The medical profession requires people with a strong tolerance for seeing blood and other unsavory things that have most people faint. My professions rewards people who can stare at a page for 8 hours without blinking. 🙂 There are all kinds of professions that seek specifically people with rare, unusual capabilities.

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      1. Roberto Severino Avatar
        Roberto Severino

        Oh! When you put it that way, it makes complete sense. If a specific autistic person can be able to focus on a single task for 8 or 9 hours straight without getting too distracted, then it certainly can be an advantage. I have a friend with Asperger’s Syndrome who did really well in high school. Got like a 3.7 GPA and was going to study international finance. Unfortunately, he didn’t do that well in college and had to withdraw himself. He’s now waiting to get some phone calls from some employers and plans on returning to school in a few years. I don’t want to end up in that situation so I guess taking a gap year wasn’t such a bad idea after all seeing as how several people I used to know lost their financial aid because of foolish choices they made in college.

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        1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
          bloggerclarissa

          I think taking a gap year is a really great idea for many autistics. There is a period of time we need to take to transition into adulthood and learn to be more comfortable with ourselves. I had to do something like this as well. But the good news is that after the gap year, one normally flourishes. The great thing about this condition is that it gets better as we grow older. It will never be as hard again as it was when we were 6, 10, 13, 16.

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      2. titfortat Avatar
        titfortat

        Well, with that enlightened way of thinking its a good thing the sociopath or psychopath has the Moussed or CIA to employ them. 😉

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        1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
          bloggerclarissa

          Forget the CIA. Look at the Congress. The real sociopaths are all there.

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      3. Titfortat Avatar
        Titfortat

        Lol, yep, I think we have a few of those in our senate also.

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        1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
          bloggerclarissa

          Oh yes. It’s like a job requirement.

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  5. thevenerablecorvex Avatar
    thevenerablecorvex

    I thought autism already was a prerequisite for doing computer science…

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  6. Sister Avatar
    Sister

    I am just curious how this will be implemented practically. Will applicants be asked to specify having autism on their CVs? Will the specific question be asked during the interview? Medical testing perhaps?

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      There is no medical testing. But as a recruiter, you will be able to notice either an extreme discomfort or an excessive charm during the interview. 🙂

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      1. t Avatar
        t

        Or an extremely discomforting charm. 😉

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