A Sweeter Variety of Life for People with Asperger's Syndrome

It is well-known that people with Asperger's Syndrome are very different as individuals, with their own personalities and interests. Yet despite with increased awareness, including from programmes like The Autistic Gardener and Employable Me, which has highlighted the difficulties that people with Asperger's Syndrome still have in obtaining employment, there are still many myths and misconceptions that exist that need breaking.

Of those myths and misconceptions, one is that IT is either one of very few or even the only field in which people with Asperger's Syndrome can be employed or can be successful. With software testing being the specialism established organisations including Specialisterne, Aspiritech, Autism Works and a few others that were originally started to provide employment opportunities for people on the autistic spectrum, it can be easy enough to clump people with Asperger's Syndrome into IT as a career field. But we must also remember that with people with Asperger's Syndrome being so different as individuals, not all want to work in IT and IT as a career doesn't all individuals with Asperger's Syndrome, including software testing. Part of people with Asperger's Syndrome being different as individuals regarding personalities, interests and strengths means that they can be successful in a wide range of different career fields,

Staff and workers on placement at Harry Specters

One such field where a group of adults on the autistic spectrum in Cambridge are are enjoying success in is in chocolate making. Founded by Mona Shah, parent of a son on the autistic spectrum Ash, Harry Specters, a social enterprise like Autism Works, not only employs people on the autistic spectrum in chocolate making, but has also shown that, again contrary to myths and misconceptions, people on the autistic spectrum are capable of working under stress, something which was a 'shocking revelation' for the company. While it is true that people on the autistic spectrum either find it difficult working under stress in having to meet tight deadlines or like myself, don't like working under excess stress due to the high-level anxiety it can cause, but when Harry Specters took a huge order from a company based in Germany that required them to make 132,0000 truffles within a month, they found that it was those not on the autistic spectrum who were the most stressed! Meanwhile, the company's employees on the autistic spectrum increased their working pace while maintaining their meticulousness to complete a mammoth task largely unaffected by stress. 

Mmmmmm! Harry Specters Chocolate Club selection

The stress that Harry Specter's employees not on the autistic spectrum was partly triggered by being uncertain about taking on such a huge order, including what would happen if it turned out they had taken on too much. What motivated the employees on the autistic spectrum though was the value of sense of achievement, as opposed to financial reward. Such motivation can be achieved through strong emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which can enable stronger staff and customer engagement. Such small changes or reasonable adjustments that can make one's role a more pleasant experience, to the extent that one looks forward to coming to work rather than feeling pressured or nervous about coming into work.

As well as strong and customer staff engagement, Harry Specters have also helped to achieve cost savings to society by reducing reliance on benefits as well as providing peace of mind to carers and relatives and environmental sustainability through local sourcing of ingredients where possible, with ethically sourced cocoa beans. The latter relates well to the strong personal moral codes that many individuals with Asperger's Syndrome often have.

Personally, as an individual with Asperger's Syndrome, as well as organisations specifically started up to provide employment opportunities for people on the autistic spectrum, I would also like to see established mainstream employers across all sectors recognise both the needs of employees on the autistic spectrum and open more towards what employees with Asperger's Syndrome can bring to the workplace. Though some progress is gradually being made, there is still a long way to go to make a significant dent in the 85 per cent figure of an estimated 700,000 adults on the autistic spectrum in the UK. To enable this, it will help for employers to listen to both employees and potential employees on the autistic spectrum, to help enable both acceptance and understanding.

To find out more about Harry Specters, including their delicious offerings, see the following link www.harryschocs.co.uk