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Overview of Vocational Rehabilitation Services for Individuals with Autism
There is growing anecdotal evidence of a lack of awareness within the autism community of available vocational rehabilitation (employment) services. Among those who do know about these services, there is also evidence of some misinformation and skepticism. Vocational rehabilitation is a...
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The Center for Career Freedom’s ASD Employment Program
Chris and Kenny were smiling – they were “wowing the crowd” with their recently acquired computer skills generating business letters, tables, flyers, entering data without errors and in less than thirty minutes. Their Housing and Case Managers were speechless. Their instructors Peter and...
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Preparing for Work
Recently I received a phone call, and the caller asked me if a bright man with Asperger’s was capable of having a job. He was in his late teens and his father thought that he was fully capable of working but his mother felt that her son would not be able to live independently. This youth had...
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Summer Jobs
For most of us a first summer was a kind of rite of passage. Motivated by making some money and by trying on a more adult role way we were ready to take on the responsibilities of work. Knowing we had to commit ourselves to a set work schedule, to learning and performing unfamiliar tasks, to...
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The Influence of Autism Symptomatology on Development & Employment
The current Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition, Treatment Revision (DSM-IV-TR) identifies three main features that are associated with autism: impairment in social interaction, communication, and behavior. Examples of the impairments in social interactions include...
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Post-Secondary Educational Models Prepare Individuals with an ASD to Enter the Workforce
In the last 50 years, there have been large changes in the labor market. Many of these changes are related to advances in technology- computers, the internet and a specialization of skills. These have fundamentally changed the educational requirements of many entry level positions. In the recent...
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Creative Approach to Job Development Pays Off at Chapel Haven
When Ed Carney first started as director of job development at Chapel Haven, he spent his first months on the job pounding the pavement, trying to get local employers to hire Chapel Haven clients. “No sooner would we place an individual in a job then we would find out that the individual did...
