Benefits of Hiring on the Spectrum
In our last blog post, one of the points brought up was the benefits of hiring employees on the spectrum, though we didn’t get too in-depth with it. We would like to do that here by expanding upon what we meant with some of the traits mentioned, and hopefully educate the community of the positive outcomes you will find if you hire from this underrepresented group. Last time, I brought up just a few of the attributes people on the spectrum can bring, such as “resourcefulness, creativity, unique perspectives and the ability to point out the little details others might miss.” We would also like to add 2 things to that list: being able to focus on the task at hand, and heightened productivity through passion.
In a recent study, found here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-015-2518-2 and expanded upon in this article: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/aug/22/autism-creative-thinking-study, we see more scientific confirmation for something that has been affirmed many times over the years; individuals on the spectrum have a high degree of creativity when compared to the neurotypical population. This creativity, which allows many of these people to think outside the box and find solutions which may not have been considered before, helps play into the resourcefulness we mentioned. Access All Areas is an award-winning theater group which caters specifically to people on the spectrum, and has found resounding success. According to Patrick Collier of Access All Areas, “It’s not about helping someone with autism or Down syndrome play Hamlet, although if they want to that’s fantastic – it’s about finding their own voice and to have that heard. People do need support to navigate the industry, but as this research shows, the creativity is there to be enabled.”That’s some pretty heavy praise right there! http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/aug/22/autism-creative-thinking-study
The ability to, as some have taken to calling it, “hyperfocus”, is one of the biggest defining traits of people on the spectrum. Hyperfocus is, essentially, when an individual on the spectrum puts all of their concentration and effort into one specific task or interest, and their drive and motivation skyrockets. There is almost nothing they can’t accomplish while doing so. It’s not difficult to see why this would be a boon for an employee with ASD. When they have a passion for something, someone on the spectrum can be an even more valuable employee than a neurotypical one. If you would like to hear a testimony of someone with ASD, and what the hyper focus phenomenon has meant to them, we suggest reading this: https://spectrumeye.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/hyperfocus-and-obsession/. It really gives a lot of good insight. So, with everything said, we hope everyone reading this can see the wonderful opportunities available to those who hire from the ASD demographic.
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