FRANKFURT, May 22 (Reuters) - German software company SAP is looking to recruit people with autism asprogrammers and product testers, drawing on skills that caninclude a close attention to detail and an ability to solvecomplex problems.
SAP has asked start-up Danish recruitment companySpecialisterne to help it find, train and manage employeesdiagnosed with the disability.
"They bring a special set of skills to the table, which fitswith SAP," said a spokesman for the company, which has alreadyhired people with autism in India and Ireland.
Specialisterne Chief Executive Steen Thygesen said thepartnership was his first with a multinational company to helpwith its worldwide recruitment.
The Danish company says it has already helped severalhundred autistic people to find a job. Sufferers often find itharder to communicate and some have lifelong learningdisabilities.
Those with a form of autism known as Asperger syndrome cansometimes have above-average intelligence. As children, they mayprefer mathematics and other subjects rooted in logic andsystems, according to Britain's National Autistic Society.
"People with autism have some unique abilities to reallyfocus on their task and stay focused for long periods of time.They are also good at spotting discrepancies in data," saidThygesen, a former manager with Microsoft and Nokia whose14-year-old son has Asperger syndrome.
According to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control andPrevention, 1 in every 88 children in the United States andalmost 1 in 54 boys are diagnosed with autism.
The SAP spokesman said the company aimed to reflect theproportion of people diagnosed as autistic in society within its65,000-strong workforce - or about 1 percent.
A Berlin-based company, Auticon, already exclusively employsautistic people as software testers. It has a team analysingdata for Vodafone Germany, an Auticon spokesman said.