A company that specialises in employing people with autism is opening an office in Glasgow, with the intention of spreading its concept across Britain.

Specialisterne, a Danish computing company, has given people with the condition the chance to flourish. “They can go from these fragile, insecure people to having high self-esteem and enjoying life,” said Thorkil Sonne. “It is magical.”

Mr Sonne, 42, founded the company five years ago after autism was diagnosed in his three-year-old son. “After I learnt about how hopeless the labour market opportunities are for people with autism I set out to start a company that would appreciate the skills that people with autism have,” he said. “I also knew that the situation was hopeless for a lot of other people with autism across the rest of the world, so my ambition was always to go international.”

About 40 members of staff - 75 per cent - at Specialisterne are autistic. They typically work for about 20 to 25 hours a week, carrying out work in areas such as programming, software testing and data registration, which require great accuracy. This type of work is ideal for many people with autism who can suffer from poor communication skills but excel at technical tasks.

Mr Sonne is keen to emphasise that the company is not about providing cheap labour; it has contracts with international corporations including CSC, the global technology company, and Cryptomathic, which specialises in business security. “The social profile of our company may bring us to attention, but our tasks have to be performed for companies who only care about getting the most for their money,” he said. Mr Sonne won a major award last year from the Danish IT Association for bringing new resources into the sector.

The company, along with partners in Scotland, is in the process of applying for social enterprise funding from the National Lottery to establish an office in Glasgow. Mr Sonne hopes to open within the next six months and employ 50 staff within three years.

“I have had contact from 53 other countries eager to start up the concept,” Mr Sonne said. “So the UK could be the first in a long line who will be able to use our experience.”

Carol Evans, from the National Autistic Society of Scotland, has been helping Specialisterne to expand to Glasgow. “It is fantastic to work with them,” she said. “Only about 13 per cent of our clients work, which is outrageous, because the number with other learning disabilities in work is about double that.”

It is estimated that about 1 per cent of the British population suffers from autism, a lifelong developmental disability that affects the way a person communicates and relates to those around them.

Ms Evans said that autistic people were disadvantaged by their communication problems during job interviews. “But our clients want jobs,” she said. “They are qualified and they make really good employees, so Specialisterne is a much-needed resource.”

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