Challenged Lives

Lately, a few companies have launched inclusive employment programmes, which provide employment opportunities to individuals diagnosed with neuro-divergent conditions like ASD. For example, German multinational software corporation SAP SE has taken a creative approach to interviewing someone with autism. They also run summer camps for students with autism to prepare them for the world of technological workplaces. Freddie Mac, a public government-sponsored enterprise based in Virginia, has been employing individuals with autism since 2011. Walgreens, the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States, also hires neuro-divergent individuals to work at their centers across the nation. Multinational computer technology companies in the USA like Microsoft, Dell and UK-based Deloitte are also hiring autistic people and have started to notice the benefits of hiring individuals with autism.

The experience of these organizations clearly show that individuals with autism can often be highly efficient in areas such as technology, science, and mathematics. Their experience suggests that individuals with autism can make wonders in reaching excellence if they are given working opportunities based on the individual’s neuro-diverse strengths.

While the Western world is working exclusively for creating awareness about autism and for providing employment opportunities, progress in the developing world is not up to the mark. However, there are some signs of progress form South Asian countries on autism awareness. Qazi Fazli Azeem, Pakistan’s first and South Asia’s only international self-advocate for the Autism Spectrum since 2006, has said that early intervention in people suffering from ASD works better. He calls for incorporating individuals with autism in vocational training so that they can be part of an inclusive work environment. In Pakistan, Ma Ayesha Memorial Centre (MAMC), Karachi Vocational Training Centre for the Intellectually Challenged (KVTC), and Network of Organizations Working with People with Disabilities (NOWPDP), are some of the renowned organizations that are working with people on the autism spectrum.

In Bangladesh, a National Advisory Committee on Autism headed by Saima Wazed Hossain as Chairperson has been formed. As WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Autism in South East Asia, Hossain has been a global champion through her relentless efforts for individuals with autism. Her mother Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of Bangladesh, has been playing a key role in facilitating disabled people in the job market. Her government has reserved one percent quota for the disabled and autistic people in all first- and second-class jobs and 10 percent in third- and-fourth-class jobs for the disabled and orphans. Their age limit for entering service has been extended up to 40 years.

It is unfortunate that despite efforts at the global level, most individuals with autism are underemployed or unemployed. Therefore, we strongly feel that including autism in the workplace is the right choice as the theme for 2021. To build an inclusive working environment for the individuals with Autism, it is suggested: (1) Train individuals with autism to develop necessary skills required to participate in the world of work; (2) Revise recruitment plans by adapting an autism-friendly workplace environment; (3) Formulate policies to create more employment opportunities; (4) Relook at autism inclusion in the workplace not only as a social and moral obligation but also as a new opportunity to unleash the potentials of individuals with Autism in some job areas; and finally, (5) Think out-of-the-box in carrying out awareness programs with cordial partnerships between governments and organizations that work for individuals with autism.