02-29-2008, 10:02 AM
And here is a public speech that was delivered at Specialisterne's office, a few weeks ago:
(I thank Torben Sørensen for allowing me to post it)
Hello, my name is Torben Sørensen. and I have worked for Specialisterne for 4 years. And I’m diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS).
I want to tell you a little about what living with AS is like for me and especially what it means for me to have a job here at Specialisterne.
First of all I must tell you that there’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ case of AS. Two people with AS can be just as different as two so-called ‘normal’ people. So if another employee was doing this little speech it would probably be quite different, but I’m hoping to tell you some things that will be true for them as well.
I didn’t find out I had AS until five years ago. The diagnosis has helped me to understand what my weak and strong sides are and what parts of myself I can improve and what parts I should just accept the way they are. Some of you have probably heard the Serenity Prayer before; “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” That sums up my attitude to life quite well.
I try to live a healthy, productive life and never stand still but always gain new knowledge and new skills. But at the same time I realize that when it comes to things like social intelligence and emotional openness I will probably always be kind of ‘outside the box’. I can live with that, though. I don’t let it drag me down. Instead I try to focus on and work with the things I’m good at. I have a good memory, I’m fairly eloquent, I have an eye for patterns and when things deviate from patterns. And so on.
I don’t consider myself to be handicapped, merely different in some aspects of life. My way of thinking and feeling is different from most people and it can make my relationships with ‘normal’ people a little difficult because we speak two slightly different languages. And because the world is mostly tailored to fit the majority, their language is considered the right one while mine is slightly off.
That, of course, automatically begs the question of whether I should try to change my language and learn to speak theirs, or if I should try to teach them to understand mine. That question always makes me think of a wonderful quote by George Bernard Shaw: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to him. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” And I would say that to some extent describes what Specialisterne is trying to accomplish.
Thorkil Sonne started this company because the job market is so ill-suited to people with AS and other kinds of autism that many of us have taken early retirement pension at a young age because we can’t find a job suitable to our qualifications.
Nowadays many jobs demand that you’re sociable, flexible and a generalist, exactly the things many people with AS are not good at. So instead of adapting people with AS to the world and forcing us to acquire skills that are very difficult to us, Specialisterne is about creating a small world that adapts to the needs and skills of people with AS. And by proving what kind of work we can deliver under these circumstances, hopefully will not only Specialisterne continue to grow, but the world around us will become less rigid and more open to people with special needs and skills as well.
For me this job has made a great difference. I always knew I had skills, but it was difficult for me to find a way to put them to good use. That, of course, is bad for your self esteem. And similarly this job has been good for my self esteem. If other companies are willing to learn from Specialisterne’s example, not only can they help make life better for people who are mentally or physically ‘outside the box’ , but it can be a great boost for their own companies and the country as well that cries for more manpower.
And this doesn’t apply to Denmark alone, of course. I imagine that every other country has similar untapped pools of manpower, so I’m glad to know that Specialisterne soon will open new offices abroad. And I’m glad to see people here from around the country and around the world who I hope will help spread the word.
Thank you
(I thank Torben Sørensen for allowing me to post it)
Hello, my name is Torben Sørensen. and I have worked for Specialisterne for 4 years. And I’m diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS).
I want to tell you a little about what living with AS is like for me and especially what it means for me to have a job here at Specialisterne.
First of all I must tell you that there’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ case of AS. Two people with AS can be just as different as two so-called ‘normal’ people. So if another employee was doing this little speech it would probably be quite different, but I’m hoping to tell you some things that will be true for them as well.
I didn’t find out I had AS until five years ago. The diagnosis has helped me to understand what my weak and strong sides are and what parts of myself I can improve and what parts I should just accept the way they are. Some of you have probably heard the Serenity Prayer before; “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” That sums up my attitude to life quite well.
I try to live a healthy, productive life and never stand still but always gain new knowledge and new skills. But at the same time I realize that when it comes to things like social intelligence and emotional openness I will probably always be kind of ‘outside the box’. I can live with that, though. I don’t let it drag me down. Instead I try to focus on and work with the things I’m good at. I have a good memory, I’m fairly eloquent, I have an eye for patterns and when things deviate from patterns. And so on.
I don’t consider myself to be handicapped, merely different in some aspects of life. My way of thinking and feeling is different from most people and it can make my relationships with ‘normal’ people a little difficult because we speak two slightly different languages. And because the world is mostly tailored to fit the majority, their language is considered the right one while mine is slightly off.
That, of course, automatically begs the question of whether I should try to change my language and learn to speak theirs, or if I should try to teach them to understand mine. That question always makes me think of a wonderful quote by George Bernard Shaw: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to him. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” And I would say that to some extent describes what Specialisterne is trying to accomplish.
Thorkil Sonne started this company because the job market is so ill-suited to people with AS and other kinds of autism that many of us have taken early retirement pension at a young age because we can’t find a job suitable to our qualifications.
Nowadays many jobs demand that you’re sociable, flexible and a generalist, exactly the things many people with AS are not good at. So instead of adapting people with AS to the world and forcing us to acquire skills that are very difficult to us, Specialisterne is about creating a small world that adapts to the needs and skills of people with AS. And by proving what kind of work we can deliver under these circumstances, hopefully will not only Specialisterne continue to grow, but the world around us will become less rigid and more open to people with special needs and skills as well.
For me this job has made a great difference. I always knew I had skills, but it was difficult for me to find a way to put them to good use. That, of course, is bad for your self esteem. And similarly this job has been good for my self esteem. If other companies are willing to learn from Specialisterne’s example, not only can they help make life better for people who are mentally or physically ‘outside the box’ , but it can be a great boost for their own companies and the country as well that cries for more manpower.
And this doesn’t apply to Denmark alone, of course. I imagine that every other country has similar untapped pools of manpower, so I’m glad to know that Specialisterne soon will open new offices abroad. And I’m glad to see people here from around the country and around the world who I hope will help spread the word.
Thank you