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The Alien World of Work for Adults with Autism
After college, one is confronted with the confounding world of job searching. Unlike anything one has experienced before, a job search is filled with resumes, cover letters, and interviews, salary negotiations, networking, and writing that looks nothing like the work just finished to earn a degree....
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The Power of Dialogue: Small Business and Career Mentoring
As a small business owner and non-profit administrator, I have had exposure to a variety of work experiences. The most difficult experiences ultimately taught me new strategies I didn’t know I needed to learn. For example, in a job interview several years ago, I disclosed my diagnosis of autism....
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Career Training at Its Best: Roses for Autism
National Labor Statistics as well as a recent National Longitudinal Study (see analysis at www.communityinclusion.org/article.php?article_id=341) show disappointing employment outcomes for individuals with autism. For example, less than half were employed at the time of the study compared to over...
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Career Planning for People on the Autism Spectrum
As autistic kids graduate from high school and enter adulthood, parents ask, “What’s next?” Some will go to college, others won’t, but many will want to enter the work force. But what kind of work is the individual suited for? Everyone on the spectrum is different. Deciding on a career...
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The Educated and Jobless
After earning a Bachelor’s degree in political science, Steven* turned his attention toward a job in public policy. He figured that his knowledge of government, interest in research, and 3.8 GPA would make it easy to find an entry-level position. Instead, he discovered a competitive field where...
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Lessons Learned – Tackling the Unemployment Crisis for Adults with Asperger’s
Transitioning into adulthood encompasses a wide array of new experiences: The emotional changes involved if an individual is leaving home, the cognitive challenges of navigating how the world operates, the acquisition of independent living skills, and managing new relationships– both romantic and...
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Tackling the Unemployment Crisis for Adults with Asperger Syndrome
Those of us who are touched by autism – either personally or professionally – are all too aware of the statistics for this population. In its most recent estimates, the Center for Disease control projects that 1 in 110 individuals in the U.S. are born with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)....
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Important Facts About Adult Autism Employment
We don’t know how many adults in the U.S. have autism. The CDC number most frequently quoted for Autism in the U.S. (1 in 110) is the prevalence rate for the autism diagnosis in 8-year-old children in 2006 (released in 2009). This rate is an average of data from 11 sites across the U.S., with...
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Harnessing the Power of Autism to Provide Vocational Opportunities to Adults with ASD in Software Testing: The Aspiritech Story
Our son’s graduation in 2003 from a four-year university was a day of great joy and pride for the entire family, but it also left us with the sinking feeling of: “What’s next?” Our son had many areas of strength - he had taught himself to read at age three and had an extensive vocabulary...
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Employment and People with Disabilities: A Social Ill to Change, Not Manage
During the last twenty-five years there has been a cataclysmic shift in the employment world of Americans. The fundamental shift and loss of the manufacturing base in America impacted not only the middle working class but also those individuals with disabilities who would have had a more secure...
