>UPFRONT<
Harnessing hidden talent
Darren Hedley, an autism researcher at La Trobe University,
m can make a big impact People on the autism spectru lopment to cybersecurity in tech, from software deve ng their computer hile most kids grew up usi busy fixing them with to play games, Tim was vage old computers sal his fat her. “We used to I in,” he says. “Since then, and get them working aga d an are fig uring out how softw have been interested in hardware works.” 0 Australians who have Tim is among the 164 ,00 al er, a lifelong development autism spectr um disord iour, av beh e tiv eti rised by rep condition that is characte nno d an ech spe , on municati challenges in social com . age gu lan y bod g din rea such as verbal communication, y comes a unique wa But with these challenges d for a midable skill set, an of seeing the world and ped tap un to recognise this companies are beginning hnology. Tec C DX giants IBM and potential, including tech level r ate gre a d to detail an “I have a sharp attention a are ich wh ks, repetitive tas of patience when doing at rks wo o wh , Tim s say testing,” natural fit for software ys plo ser vice company that em Xceptional, a technology lls. on their technica l ski people with autism based
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and logic-based games to recruit candidates instea d of interviews. “They can be ver y consci entious and thorough wo rkers, and they don’t like litt le errors,” says Darren. “If they’re unemployed or stuck in a job where they aren’t usi ng these skills, that’s a big waste.”
Employment and educati on
initiatives In 201 4, Hedley and his colleagues teamed up wi th DXC Technology to establish the DXC Dandelion Pro gram, which matches people on the autism spectr um wi th tech jobs, from cybersecurity to software development . Since its launch, 105 people wi th autism have been em ployed in the Federa l Government Departments of Defence, Human Ser vices, Home Affairs, and Socia l Ser vices as we ll as ANZ and Nationa l Austr alia Bank. The initiative also offers a paid work experience program for ter tiary stu dents, which includes a threeweek robotics software development course for primary schools that work with autistic children. When it comes to startin g a career in computer sci ence, Tim says it’s important for autistic students to exp lore how they can grow and best use their skills. “It’s helpfu l to understand your own strengths and weaknesse s, and consider ways you can develop the skills you ma y have difficult y with,” he says. – Gemma Conroy
¹SOURCE: AIHW / AUTISM NZ
Skills going to waste
for people on the autism The unemployment rate rate six times higher than the spectr um is about 32%, es are lac rkp wo lity. Alt hough for those without a disabi erview int job the st ma king it pa becoming more diverse, pite des , ism aut th people wi is often a major hurdle for es. abiliti their strong technica l cap researcher at La Trobe ism aut an y, dle He Darren ess ferent approaches to ass University, says using dif . ion p in the right direct autistic candidates is a ste s on line questionnaires use le, Xceptional, for examp
164,000 80,000 About
Australians and
New Zealanders have au tism¹
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