The launch of a new pilot program positions Microsoft as the latest corporate giant looking to tap the employment potential of those on the spectrum.
The company says plans are underway to hire individuals with autism for full-time positions at its Redmond, Wash. headquarters.
Microsoft says it will hire people with autism for full-time positions in Redmond, Wash. through a new pilot program. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
Microsoft said it will work with Specialisterne, a nonprofit that focuses on helping people with the developmental disorder apply their talents to work in the technology field, to facilitate the hiring effort.
Initially, the program is expected to include about 10 people with autism, a Microsoft spokeswoman told Disability Scoop.
“Microsoft is stronger when we expand opportunity and we have a diverse workforce that represents our customers,” wrote Mary Ellen Smith, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of worldwide operations, in a blog post announcing the pilot program. “People with autism bring strengths that we need at Microsoft, each individual is different, some have amazing ability to retain information, think at a level of detail and depth or excel in math or code.”
Smith, who has a 19-year-old son with autism, said that Microsoft already works with its vendor partners to employ people with disabilities in supported employment situations for roles in event services, transportation and food services. Though the new pilot program is focused on autism, Smith said Microsoft is “passionate about hiring individuals of all disabilities.”
Microsoft is not the first technology company to activelyhire people with autism. SAP, a Germany-based software giant, has worked with Specialisterne to hire those on the spectrum in the United States and abroad.
By Shaun Heasley | April 7, 2015
Disability Scoop/http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/04/07/microsoft-employees-autism/20193/
A graduate of Abilene Christian University, Jennifer had a long career in TV Broadcasting. Upon learning her oldest son Sam had a form of Autism called Asperger’s Syndrome, she left her career and became a full-time mother to both of her sons. Jennifer elicited the participation of her family and together they produced several independent programs including a children’s animated series titled Ameriquest Kids, as well as a documentary and book titled, Coping to Excelling: Solutions for School-age Children Diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism or Aspergers Syndrome. She formed the nonprofit Asperger101 to provide on-going free resources related to ASD at Aspergers101.com and has implemented the Texas Driving with Disability Program and continues to grow the statewide initiative today. She and her husband have recently retired to their property in the Texas Hill Country.