Aspiritech
Adults on the autism spectrum work at Aspiritech to test digital products so development teams catch accessibility failures before launch.
ENABLE Model location
What it is
Aspiritech operates in the employment + technology-services system. The organisation trains and employs autistic adults to run structured QA and accessibility-testing cycles for client development teams prior to deployment. Their specialists inspect interfaces, evaluate assistive-tech compatibility, and communicate defects to developers so that access failures do not land on end-users. (Aspiritech)
Why it matters
Within the software development lifecycle system, many teams compress or omit inclusive testing, which pushes the burden of discovering barriers onto disabled users after launch. Aspiritech shifts that burden upstream by embedding trained neurodivergent testers in pre-release work. This approach transforms unpaid user-labour into formalised employment, prevents downstream compensatory work by end-users, and aligns accessibility care with product-quality processes. (Autism Speaks)
Real-world example
The organisation began in 2008, founded by Brenda and Moshe Weitzberg to create meaningful employment for their adult son, who faced barriers despite possessing a degree. (Aspiritech) Aspiritech now employs over 100 adults -- over 90% on the autism spectrum -- and offers services including QA, accessibility audits (WCAG/Section 508), and data-validation for large clients. (Aspiritech)
What care sounds like (hypothetical)
“You flagged the missing focus indicator before we shipped this module.”
“Your accessibility audit gave us a clear defect with device-specific steps -- and we fixed it.”
“Your test report helped our dev team catch the keyboard trap before release.”
7. What neglect sounds like (hypothetical)
“We skipped the accessibility checklist since we’re close to deadline.”
“We’ll rely on users to tell us what’s broken navigator-side.”
“Testing for neurodivergent use-cases is too niche -- let’s just fix complaints when they come.”
8. What compensation sounds like (hypothetical)
“I logged in as a screen-reader user and spent 45 minutes documenting a workflow that a paid tester should have found.”
“I repeatedly email the dev team about missing alt-text because we didn’t test with assistive tech.”
“I built my own script to bypass the barrier because the vendor never tested for it.”
All observations occur within the context of the employment + technology-services system.