Workers with Autism are Advantage for Florida Family Car Wash

If you're in the Northeast, hope you're recovering from the storm. Check out this story -- especially the video -- it will be a great way to start your day wherever you are.

Most car washes are filled with less-than-enthusiastic workers. But in Parkland, Fla., there’s a place to clean your car where the employees — 80 percent of which are along the autism spectrum — are extremely excited about their daily responsibilities, making the turnover rate is almost non-existent.

Started by the father-and-son team of John and Tom D’Eri, Rising Tide Car Wash gives their son and brother, Andrew, who was identified as an autistic individual at the age of three, and its other employees the chance to lead a fulfilling life.

Benefits of Hiring Workers with Autism

The Israeli Defense Force’s Satellite Intelligence Unit 9900 assigns autistic soldiers to monitor electronic combat maps for even the minutest changes. Their rare ability to focus for hours on end provides better results than non-autistic soldiers.Software powerhouse SAP is actively searching for people with autism for jobs that require high attention to detail such as software testing. It hopes to have people with autism make up one percent of their workforce by 2020.

TSA May Have Perfect Job for Autistic Workers, According to Study

Think of the times when you've had to carry out a repetitive, boring task. Now recall how quickly your mind began to wander.

That is a significant problem in many real-world jobs, and is a special challenge for Transportation Security Administration baggage screeners at airports, who have to look at hundreds of X-rayed bags, trying to pick out dangerous objects from jumbles of hair dryers, toiletries, socks and shoes.

It may be, though, that one group is naturally better suited to this task -- people with autism.

An 'Untapped Pool' of IT Talent

OK, we're straying a little bit but it has been a while since we've seen reports on this wonderful company. Just amazing.

Thorkil Sonne, founder of Danish computer company Specialisterne, hires only people with autism, specifically from the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum. His experience with them has demonstrated that these special-needs people not only have a robust memory and attention for details, they take pride in what they do, have perseverance for repetitive tasks and are "very precise in their way of communication."
"High-functioning" autism typically refers to those that are able to live relatively independent lives compared to others who may demonstrate associated learning disabilities and need a lifetime of specialist support.
Rather than simply place them in jobs that might not be a good fit, Specialisterne assesses every individual's skills, identifies what would make them feel wanted in the workplace and helps them excel, Sonne told ZDNet Asia in his e-mail.