Recently, I came across two very interesting and path-breaking innovations:
– Aspiritech
– Dialogue In The Dark
Aspiritech is a non-profit organization with a vision to provide a path for high functioning individuals on the Autism Spectrum to realize their potential through gainful employment. They leverage the individuals’ unique talents – attention to detail, superlative technical aptitude, ability to thrive in a highly repetitive task-driven work environment – and aligning those talents to the needs of the business community.
Aspiritech provides QA & Testing services to client software development organizations. Their services include functional, compatibility and regression testing, as well as test case development.
Dialogue in the Dark is a platform for communication and a close exchange, provoking a change in perspectives. In the process of these perspective-changing experiences, it create jobs for blind and differently-abled people worldwide.
They offer exhibitions and business workshops in total darkness. In the exhibition, blind guides lead visitors through a completely dark environment where one learns to interact by relying on other senses. The business workshops are led by professional trainers who are blind. The workshop activities provide an innovative and powerful tool for human resource development, reinforcing a collaborative mindset and emotional intelligence.
According to the site:
“Dialogue in the Dark is an experience in total darkness where, led by blind guides and trainers, one learns to interact and communicate by relying on other senses. The sudden withdrawal of eyesight challenges everybody. While participants stay for a short while in pitch darkness, they are emotionally immersed and confronted with own limits. Blind people are the “sighted” ones in this environment and can demonstrate their capabilities better than their sighted colleagues. This reversal of roles guarantee reflection, the discovery of the unseen and the need of communication and cohesion The experience provides an innovative and powerful tool to understand one’s limits and respect the other, reinforcing a collaborative mindset and emotional intelligence. ”
The above are path-breaking experiments and need to be applauded in all possible means. They are the best examples of respecting and nurturing the talents of our fellow brothers and sisters.
