WAM ABU DHABI, April 16th 2014 (WAM) — The Majlis of His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the U.A.E. Armed Forces, in Al Bateen Area, today hosted a lecture by Thorkil Sonne, the president and founder of Specialisterne (Danish for The Specialists), a Danish social innovator company using the characteristics of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as competitive advantages in the business market.
H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, sheikhs, ministers, senior officials and a number of ambassadors of Arab and other countries, attended Thorki’s lecture titled ‘The Power of Being Different’.
The lecturer praised U.A.E.’s experience in caring for people with autism and the excellent services it provides for them.
The lecturer praised U.A.E.’s experience in caring for people with autism and the excellent services it provides for them, including the use of music, arts and painting among ways of treating people with autism.
He also welcomed cooperation between Specialisterne and U.A.E.’s spcialised institutions.
In his lecture, Thorkil told the audience the story of Specialisterne, founded in 2004, and Specialist People Foundation, which started with Lars, his son.
Thorkil said his son Lars was two and a half years old when he and his wife noticed that his development began to differ from that of his older brothers. They arranged with his nursery carers that he would get extra support from a qualified child psychologist, all the while hoping of course that we could learn how best to help him become more like his brothers.
Eventually, said Thorkil, they were informed that Lars had infantile autism – a life-long invisible handicap in the category of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Lars would face a life where he would be constantly misunderstood and isolated because it would be difficult for him to interpret what others expected of him. Most likely, Lars would never have a normal working life.
Thorkil stressed that the need for meaningful and productive jobs for people with autism is huge.
Among people on the autism spectrum in the US (1:88 of the population) the unemployment rate is estimated to be 80-90% despite skill sets very much needed by the corporate sector.
Every year in the US close to 50K people with autism will turn 18 and will be facing a very difficult transition into the labour market. Only a minority will succeed to find a meaningful and productive job in line with their motivation, skills and workability, according to Thorkil.
Specialisterne works to help people on the autism spectrum fulfil their potential to lead positive productive and rewarding lives.
Thorkil noted that Germany-based software company SAP AG and Specialisterne have set an example for how a global corporate leader and a social enterprise can change the paradigm in the labour market.
In support of its mission to help the world run better and improve people’s lives, SAP announced at the SAPPHIRE conference May 2013 it will work globally with Specialisterne to employ people with autism as software testers, programmers and data quality assurance specialists.
SAP sees a potential competitive advantage to leveraging the unique talents of people with autism, while also helping them to secure meaningful employment.
The goal of the not-for-profit Specialist People Foundation is to enable one million jobs for people with autism and similar challenges through knowledge share and partnerships with leading stakeholders.
The change will be based on 10 years of experience from Specialisterne operations in 12 countries providing assessment, training, education and employment for people with autism.
"The change is needed in all communities across the globe and will include the education system, the state, the corporate sector, foundations, philanthropists and the families," the president of Specialisterne added.
Thorkil Sonne says he is "looking forward to discussing with leading stakeholders how we can make a change in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. and on a global scale for people with autism and similar challenges." WAM/MMYS
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