an animation studio adapted for autistic employees

By Harumi Ozawa

“With my personality, I can only take the next step if I fully understand every detail,” Shoko Sakuma explains to the‘AFP. This 39-year-old Japanese woman, diagnosed with autism, had difficulty finding a place in a work environment “classic”. Also having attention deficit disorder (ADD), she had difficulty concentrating in her previous job, an accounting position: she got tangled up in numbers, lost important objects, was “obsessed” by small details. Sometimes her situation of failure depressed her so much that she no longer left the house. So she chose another path…

At Shake hands, “I am accepted as I am”

Today, she works at the Shake hands animation studio in Kyoto (western Japan), where she adds digital effects to keyframes in a partitioned office, a spatial configuration that helps her concentrate. “The instructors here accept me as I am, and teach me (work, Editor’s note) with great gentleness”, she appreciates. “I feel comfortable here. I’m having fun.” Created in 2023, Shake hands is one of the first Japanese animation studios adapted for autistic employees.

“No abstract rules”

“An animated film is based on what we call a timesheet, a plan that controls each movement of the characters,” explains Yuki Kawai, a 28-year-old studio trainer. “There are no abstract rules when doing animation (…) and that’s why it’s easy to understand for people like us”, he said. He himself was diagnosed as having ADD during a first – disastrous – professional experience in sales, after finishing his art and design studies. “Often I couldn’t get up in the morning or get to the office on time, he says. I couldn’t handle phone calls because I got people’s names wrong.”

Experiences that impact mental health

For people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), such a traumatic experience can trigger mental health problems, warns Yuji Umenaga, professor at Waseda University in Tokyo, specialist in the field. “Many people who come to see me have symptoms of depression, he explains to theAFP. Antidepressants are not effective for them, because these are the symptoms of ASD that make it difficult to relate to bosses and colleagues.”

Calm and caring environment

Shake hands has already produced animation sequences for several big-budget films, and a Malaysian company entrusted it with the production of a promotional animated film. Catchy background music punctuates the work of the studio’s dozen or so employees, who receive a symbolic salary. “In a quiet environment, some people are sensitive to the fact that others are chatting, and think that they might be the subject of their conversations,” explains Momoka Tsuji, staff member. Those who become too engrossed in their task—a common problem—are reminded that they need to take a break every hour. Studio employees can start and stop their workday whenever they want, even late at night. “Some of our colleagues don’t feel comfortable having direct conversations, so we communicate through a chat function on the intranet,” also explains Tomoya Sawada, 34, director of the studio.

Better support?

In Japan, developmental disorders have long been considered a simple matter of personality, but scientific studies have contributed, since the beginning of the 2000s, to raising society’s awareness of the subject and to better care for these people from childhood. and to increase the number of adapted businesses in the country.

A similar studio in the United States

Professor Umenaga hopes that the example of Shake hands will be emulated in Japan, like Exceptional Minds, a Californian animation studio founded in 2011 which trains autistic students. “In order to let their wonderful potential shine, we must provide them with an adequate environment, from school to professional training,” pleads Mr. Umenaga.

© General illustration photo / Nathaphat / Canva