metro >> Jews in the digital age
Drawing ' , nen Strengths
Tech company wants workers with Asperger's syndrome.
F
or many, the 1988 movie Rain
Man was their first introduc-
tion to autism. Twenty-five years
later and not only is autism a household
term, but most people know someone
who has been diagnosed to be on the
autism spectrum.
Today, fans of the
primetime TV show
Parenthood have
watched the young
Max Braverman
(played by Max
Burkholder) grow
up before us in our
living rooms with
Asperger's syn-
drome, a form of
autism.
The character in
Rain Man was an oversimplified exam-
ple of someone with autism, but many
of his attributes were accurate. In the
movie, Dustin Hoffman's character has
unusual skills that are exploited by his
brother to count cards in Las Vegas casi-
nos. While the brother's activities were
unethical, the movie demonstrated that
individuals with autism have unique
abilities that neuro-typical people do
not.
Those abilities are being put to good
use by a German technology com-
pany called Auticon, which exclusively
employs people with autism. The com-
pany's owner, Dirk Mueller-Remus,
founded Auticon when his own son was
diagnosed with Asperger's.
"Our guys have a lot of skills in con-
centration and analytical/logical think-
ing. And we are sure the IT (information
technology) industry will have benefits,"
he says.
According to Auticon's website, the
company uses the logical and analytical
strengths of their consultants in software
testing and quality assurance. The special
abilities of consultants with Asperger's
are advantageous in the quality control
of software. Auticon lays out a vision
that is both entrepreneurial as well as
social. On the business side, Auticon
seeks to deliver pinpoint quality in the
IT sector, but it is also highly focused on
being socially conscience and increasing
the quality of life of those with autism
through job satisfaction.
The idea that those with Asperger's
have special abilities that make them
better qualified in certain jobs like
those at Auticon is no shock to Mike
14 January 24 • 2013
JN
Avi Kapen
Mike Levine
"I think in some ways my Asperger's helps
me with my job ... they see how my ability
to remember facts and numbers makes me
successful."
- Avi Kapen
Levine, 35, of Royal Oak. Self-diagnosed
with Asperger's in February 2003 (and
later confirmed by physicians), Levine
explained that "a lot of Aspies' take a real
liking to the Internet and technology and
they're good at it because of their ability
to really focus. If they take a job in that
field, they will likely succeed because of
their special aptitude:'
When Levine first heard of Auticon's
program to hire those with Asperger's, he
was surprised. "My first reaction is that
it's usually the other way around. Aspies'
are usually seen as a deterrent and can't
get their foot in the door at companies.
The fact that Auticon specifically desires
people with Asperger's to be software tes-
ters and managers is great. And it makes
sense:'
Those with autism often have trouble
fitting into the working world, but under
Mueller-Remus' leadership, the Berlin-
based company has created the right
working environment for people with
autism and a culture that draws upon
their strengths. That environment is
essential, says Avi Kapen, 39, of West
Bloomfield, who was diagnosed with
Asperger's at age 18 by Dr. Ami Klin, a
world-renowned autism and Asperger's
syndrome expert.
Kapen works as a circulation page at
the West Bloomfield Public Library and
says that due to having Asperger's, his
job suits him well.
"I think in some ways my Asperger's
helps me with my job. They didn't know
I had Asperger's when they hired me,
but they see how my ability to remember
facts and numbers makes me successful:'
Levine agrees. About to celebrate his
fifth year on the job as office adminstra-
tive assistant at Country Place Condo
Association in Northville, Levine main-
tains he's well suited for the job as a
result of the combination of it being the
right working environment for him and a
structured, routine-focused position.
That recipe has proven successful for
Auticon as well, and they're not the only
company looking to a workforce of autis-
tic people in order to grow. Auticon's
Belgian partner has also shown that jobs
for autistic people in the area of software
testing and quality assurance lead to
corporate growth and financial success.
Auticon argues that many with
Asperger's have a knack for finding pat-
terns and flaws in gigantic calculations,
making them well suited for software
testing.
For Kapen, remembering obscure
numbers and facts has been a part of
his life since he was a child. He only has
to hear a date — like a friend's birth-
day — once and it will never escape his
memory. His special talent is recalling
little-known sports statistics and trivia
about politicians. Some might find those
characteristics odd and only focus on the
peculiar social skills, but increasingly
people are recognizing the positives of
those gifts and looking to take advantage
of them.
In Germany, roughly only 15 percent
of people with autism are employed in
the private sector due to their trouble
with social interactions, a symptom of
Asperger's. The program at Auticon,
however, uses job coaches to help its
employees with customer relations.
Participants in the study state the train-
ing allows them to feel valued as employ-
ees.
One of Auticon's new software testers,
Philip von der Linden, has found the
program to be a life-changing experience,
saying, "That is what makes life valuable.
To be needed. And if what you can do is
appreciated, and if what seems to be a
weakness is turned into an asset:'
While those with autism have been
challenged to integrate into the profes-
sional world in the past, companies like
Auticon are not only giving them new
opportunities, but are also demonstrating
that those with special talent are integral
employees. The future quality of software
coming out of Berlin will be superior,
and we'll all have Auticon's autism pro-
gram to thank. Hopefully, American tech
companies will soon follow suit.
❑
Rabbi Jason Miller is an educator,
entrepreneur and blogger, who owns Access
Computer Technology in West Bloomfield.
Follow him on Twitter at @RabbiJason.