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Extraordinary Ventures Creates Extraordinary Opportunities
Government is an important employer in our economy, but by far the largest source of jobs is the private sector made up of hundreds of thousands of small, medium and large businesses. But neither government nor private enterprise has done a very good job incorporating the skills and talents of...
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Employment Boot Camp Prepares Job Seekers with ASD
Employment is a socially normative activity that is a key factor in adult life and successful community inclusion (Fussell & Furstenberg, 2005). Paid employment contributes greatly to quality of life outcomes including economic and social wellbeing, enhanced self-esteem, positive health...
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Employment Opportunities for People with disABILITIES
Sitting in the parking lot of Blue Star Recyclers, I watched as employees arrived by bus and on foot. They ran and skipped into work; each of them 10 – 15 minutes early for their shift. The words of Leigh Schilling, Recycling Technician echoed in my head: “I have the honor of working.” The...
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Different, Not Worse
What would you say are qualities that make someone a good friend? What are the qualities that make someone a great date? What qualities should a professional look for in a new colleague? When I draw up a list of the qualities my peers and I look for in others, here are some answers: a sense of...
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Green Goods and Services: A New Niche in the Economy for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum
What is the Green Goods and Services (GGS) Industry? If you guessed it has something to do with recycling you are partially correct. Green Goods and Services is a broad category of our economy defined by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). “The BLS definition of green...
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SAP and Autism at Work
Autism has been very much in the news recently, especially since the report indicating that the level of autism has now been estimated at one in sixty-eight children. And Laura Princiotta, who serves as the CEO of SpArc Philadelphia, a family of organizations which deal with intellectual and...
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Disclosing an ASD Diagnosis: There is Another Option
You are on the spectrum and searching for jobs. You’ve prepared your resume, practiced interview skills, written cover letters, applied for jobs. You also might have considered whether or not to disclose your diagnosis. If you were diagnosed as a child, then, growing up everyone around you...
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Cut Out for Him: A Father on His Son’s Employment Future
My 15-year-old son Alex (diagnosed PDD-NOS) goes to a special-needs school where some students are old enough to work. A few years ago Alex’s teacher told me about when she approached a local thrift shop about students volunteering there. “We don’t hire the handicapped,” the clerk...
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How (and How Not) to Work with Employees with Autism or Asperger Syndrome
Imagine that you are a young person with Asperger Syndrome. You leave home and go off to college. Happily, you find that your new school is quite able to accommodate your needs (provided you advocate for yourself, of course). Whether it is an alternative location and extra time for testing, a...
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Improving Employment Outcomes for Individuals with Autism
In 2013, a study published by Professor Paul Shattuck, then at Washington University, reported on the outcomes for young adults on the autism spectrum. From Shattuck’s study, we learned that just over half (53.4 percent) of the young adults on the autism spectrum surveyed had ever worked for pay...
