Established in 2004 Specialisterne is an international not-for-profit social enterprise. Specialisterne’s aim is to create neuroinclusive workplaces where ineurodivergent individuals can thrive through working with employers to realise the potential of neurodivergent employees and leaders, adopting a more positive attitude towards the talents and skills they bring to the workplace.
Founder Thorkil Sonne developed the Dandelion Methodology and approach to help identify and observe the talents autistic individuals can offer in the workplace that may not be immediately visible or observable through traditional recruitment and selection processes that generally present as a barrier to employment for autistic people.
Since 2015 Specialisterne Australia has worked with government departments and business across sectors to provide strategic advice and practical support for the refinement of human resources, operational and customer service practices; mobilise hiring programs that successfully source, place, retain and increase the value of neurodivergent talent; leverage workplace support, mentoring and coaching for employees and their people leaders; and provide tailored education and training.
Our clients in Australia include Deloitte, Westpac, Lendlease, ATO, IBM, Service Australia, Weir Minerals, Coles, Transport for NSW, Harvey Norman, Cummins and EY.
Through our recent engagements, we are finding that businesses are beginning to more strategically invest in how they support their neurodivergent employees and managers within their workplace. They are mindful of the growing need to engage differently with their Gen-Z employees, acknowledging that "more than half of Gen-Z identify as “definitely” (22%) or “somewhat” (31%) neurodiverse". (source).
The Dandelion Model
The value of what you see depends on who you are.

Why the Dandelion represents our core values and business model. Context is key. Many view the dandelion as a weed; something to be rooted out of our lawns and flower beds. What a lot of people don’t know is that, when cultivated, the dandelion is one of the most valuable and useful plants in nature – known for its nutritional, healing and medicinal properties.
A dandelion is a weed in an environment where it is not welcomed. If the dandelion is in an environment where it is welcomed, valued, and nurtured, it is an herb. Autistic and neurodivergent individuals often struggle to feel welcome in the labour market. Specialisterne strives to create an environment where each individual can thrive and provides support both for the individual and the employer to maintain this comfort zone.
On our logo, the blue square around the dandelion represents the open sky of opportunities, with a rounded, softened corner to illustrate that even though we are in a tough market, we take into consideration individual needs when creating our work environment.
The “I” letters in Specialisterne have the yellow colour of the mature dandelion flower, to underscore the link between the logo and the name of the Specialisterne Foundation.
The tagline, “Employ Different Thinking”, helps all stakeholders, no matter their perspective, to stay focused on our goals and what we need to do to achieve them.