On April 3, the Director of Inclusive Hiring and Accessibility at Microsoft wrote that because most people with autism were unemployed or underemployed, a "large pool" of talented people were missing out on being able to contribute at work. However, from the known results of their program, only 10 of 700 resumes were successful.

"However, from the known results of their program, only 10 of 700 resumes were successful."This is not a large number or percentage at all. Does he really think that "alternative hiring processes" could significantly reduce the need for millions of dollars that organizations like Autism Speaks and SFARI spend every year to fund medical research for autism, which can even affect basic living skills?

He only reminds people that Microsoft's initiative for autistic people is simply a hiring program for typical Microsoft jobs, not an alternative set of careers where people with autism face expectations tailored to their needs. They then offer a virtual career fair for autistics. Of course, the applicants will still need to discuss the positions with them, and even come up with ideas as to how to be hireable.

"They really like to wrongly portray their initiative as more than an alternative hiring process, but this statement really describes their software and company practices really well, just not in the way that they think it does."Because many autistics only engage in an “engage in an endless acquisition of facts”, this would not help those autistics very much. There is also the issue that some autistics will benefit from a real-world career fair specialized for them, as they will feel more connected to a real-world atmosphere which usually doesn't glitch.

The article ends by saying "At Microsoft, we see disability as a strength." They really like to wrongly portray their initiative as more than an alternative hiring process, but this statement really describes their software and company practices really well, just not in the way that they think it does. ⬆