Senator Dick Durbin Urges Employers to Hire Autistic Workers

As reported by the Justice for All disability rights blog, Sen. Dick Durbin, who currently holds the influential position of Senate Majority Whip, recently spoke at Illinois Wesleyan University regarding equal employment opportunity for people with disabilities. He discussed the high unemployment rate in this population and urged employers not to let myths and stereotypes affect their hiring decisions, pointing out that the cost of providing workplace accommodations is very low and that the most common request is for flex time, which costs the employer nothing:


...hiring workers with disabilities is not an act of charity. The companies that learn first how to recruit and retain talented employees with disabilities are going to have an advantage in the marketplace. They are going to have a wider choice of employees to choose from when it comes to filling critical vacancies.


Sen. Durbin went on to speak about autism in particular, mentioning that some characteristics of autism can contribute to professional success. He quoted economist Vernon Smith, who won a Nobel Prize in 2002 and who has attributed his success in part to the autistic capacity for deep concentration and willingness to explore unconventional approaches. While observing that not all autistics can achieve this level of success, Sen. Durbin stated that autistics and others with disabilities can contribute to society in various ways, and he further quoted Smith on neurodiversity:


Vernon Smith... compares the struggle for disability rights to the struggle for civil rights. He says: "We’ve lost a lot of the barriers that have to do with skin color and various other characteristics. But there’s still not sufficient recognition of mental diversities." He adds, "We don’t all have to think alike to be communal and to live in a productive and satisfying world."