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The Road to Adulthood: Planning and Preparing for Transition
For families of adolescents with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities, planning for the future may seem particularly daunting. Parents are often faced with questions about what lies ahead for their son or daughter as they prepare to “age out” of their school district and...
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Women at Work
When I founded Yes She Can in November 2013 I created the motto: Women with Autism. We work. With you. It was my vision that with proper training and support, women with autism could and should join the competitive workforce and work side by side with neuro-typical peers, whether it were shelving...
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The Role of the Caregiver in Enhancing Job Skills in Individuals with ASD
When parents think of what they want for their children, a fulfilling job is often included in their answer. Many caregivers want to see that their loved one can not only obtain a job, but maintain it long-term. This tends to be particularly difficult for those on the autism spectrum, as research...
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Defining Care for High-Functioning Adults with Autism
A lost art in modern conversation (not surprisingly, as we are quite possibly the busiest society in world history) is the definition of one’s terms. To be sure, this requires time and patience; but by clarifying all foundational points, we make the rest of the conversation much easier....
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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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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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Support of Coaching to Develop Key Skills that Facilitate Independent Living
Independent living skills, or life skills, are important tools that are needed in order to successfully navigate the world. In the 1990’s, a surge of children were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and are now approaching adulthood (VanBergeijk, E., Klin, A. & Volkmar, F....
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The Direct Care Collaborative – Two Populations in Crisis: Adults with Severe Autism and Those That Support Them
As most of us who are reading this page know, there is a paradoxical relationship between the increasing numbers of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) entering adulthood every year and the decline in available services. Indeed, the number of adults (22+) with autism is estimated at 200,000,...
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Igniting Passion. Actualizing Potential.
Picture an ember – a small glowing spark that with proper care and attention will grow into a warm, radiating fire. Now picture your spark – what gets you up in the morning, what motivates you to keep going, and how do you nurture that spark? For many of us that spark is our work, and it is...
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Empowering Young Women with ASD to be Successful in the Workplace
Like their neurotypical peers, young women with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) truly desire to be independent. To seek her potential and independence, most women with autism need to work for money, even if it is for 15 hours a week. Women transitioning from school to adulthood need to stretch,...
