Specialisterne Visualisation

S PE CIAL IS T E RNE excellent memory

highly skilled at computers

eye for detail

autism Thorkil

PERSON

autistic teenager

IDEA Turn handicap into a competitive advantage

Specialisterne employs autistic people sof tware testing

programming data-entry harnessed talent meaningful employment

P R OJ E CT

economic returns for company & society

break isolation

become an active, independent part of society

autistic community

business world

I M P ACT

15 countries 32 locations

1,000 trained individuals with autism found jobs

2008-2012 net value of ca. â‚Ź18 M for the Danish State"

create a million jobs for people with autism"

SPAIN Showcasing

Finding Par tners

Suppor t ing Transfer With the support of the

Social Local Impact

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SPECIALISTERNE Scaling model: local branches developed by local social entrepreneurs and working in close cooperation with headquarters Barriers •! Access to subsidies for training: The training that we provide is relatively costly, as it is done in small groups and is very tailored to the special needs of each individual with autism. The challenge is to fit this type of training with the requirements and regulations of the European funds that subsidize employment training programmes.

•! Disability certificates: Depending on the country, high functioning autism is always/never/some times considered a disability, and many times the mentioned subsidies or other subsidies for employing people with disabilities depend on that certificate.

•! Specialisterne is sustainable but devotes many resources to subsidize its training courses and to disseminate our message in favour of people with ASD. Therefore, access to external financial resources, soft loans and philanthropic gifts is critical for expansion.

•! Lack of understanding and appreciation for autistic people which leads to lack of openness for solutions such as Specialisterne and a lack of self-awareness of their strengths among the autistic people.

Policy recommendations •! European, national private and public funders should develop more flexible financial instruments and requirements for their subsidies and grants in particular for training specific target groups since the most impactful approaches are those that foresee tailored adjustments and individualised training tools. For this, impact evaluations are necessary to demonstrate the return on such investments.

•! Policy makers at all levels should acknowledge globally that people with high-functioning autism have severe difficulties in some areas and, therefore, deserve a disability certificate that will allow access to resources, subsidies, and individualised support in order to empower them to become active contributors.

•! Private and public funders should increase radically the financial resources devoted to investing in social companies (both grants and soft loans), making a serious commitment in favour of the social businesses and acknowledging the social value and they generate in terms of public spending.

With the support of ! !