The societal challenge addressed in this initiative relates to inclusion and social justice: there is
a gap between what people with autism have access to vs. what others have access to. Tackling
exclusion (e.g. from school, from employment), having a voice, having an influence, having a
job and contributing to society is what this project aims to contribute.
Providing support to people with autism can be done at a lower cost, saving money for society,
through prevention of current exclusion of people with autism. There is an annual cost of £38
billion annually in the UK that results from ‘failing’ (as Herbertson puts it) autism citizens who
have potential especially when assisted by technology. There is a pool of 600,000 people who
may have potential digital skills to fill this gap. There may also potentially be a deficit of skilled
workers within the UK in the near future. This tool may help to remedy that. In addition to
addressing an existing social need, the research is engaging end-users in the creation and evaluation
of services, whilst helping traditional public employment service providers to reach a
group that is traditionally very hard to access in a cost-effective way.