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Becoming an Autism Employment Entrepreneur
Last fall, after a 30-year career in corporate marketing, I joined the ranks of a handful of other parents and social service agencies in a new movement referred to as autism employment entrepreneurship. I founded Yes She Can Inc. as a nonprofit dedicated to developing job skills and employment...
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Creating the Path to Employment
New York Collaborates for Autism (NYCA) creates comprehensive, evidence-based community services to support people living with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) right now. In 2011, NYCA turned its attention toward creating employment opportunities for young adults with ASD. As part of its research...
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Finding the Right Employment for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Locating a place of employment is one of the most prevalent challenges for an individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In fact, according to a study conducted in 2010 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 21% of all adults with disabilities participated in the labor force as compared with...
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Employment for Persons on the Autism Spectrum: Examination of the State of the Field and the Path to Pursue
Despite evidence of the potential of individuals with autism to perform competitive jobs, employment rates for people on the spectrum remain extremely poor. Approximately 75% of adults with autism are unemployed or underemployed (Autism Society, 2011; Van Laarhoven & Winiaski, 2012). In 2013,...
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The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation’s “NYC Overload Project” Creates Employment for Singer/Songwriters
Envisioning and then creating innovative employment opportunities for adults living with Autism has always been a hallmark of The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation’s mission. Last spring, while attending a performance by participants from The Miracle Project New York, the seeds of another new...
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Creating a Win-Win When Hiring People with Autism: How One Small Company Made it Work
A wave of high school and college graduates with talent, ability, and a tremendous capacity to contribute are hitting the job market but they are not getting hired. Recent statistics show that 75% of people with autism spectrum disorders are either unemployed or under employed. Many of those that...
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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...
