Topic 6: Success Stories

As stated above, young adults with autism often feel stress when seeking employment. However, this process can also be stressful for parents of children with autism. When student's age out of school related services, the fear of what will happen next envelops families with worry. To many this has become known as "falling off the cliff" (Herskowitz, 2016). This term refers to the sudden lack of services and supports once young adults with autism age out of services at one day before their 22^nd birthday. Young adults can stay in high school until that age. However, as soon as they are 22, there is no more high school which means no more IEPs. Everything stops, and suddenly these new adults with autism are forced to find their way in the world on their own, without the services from high school they were so used to. Then, it's a matter of figuring out if college is an option, or work, in addition to where the adult will live, considering if they are capable of living on their own or if they need supported housing. Also, if they received SSI benefits as a child, now they will be predetermined for SSDI (M. Pelich, personal correspondence, 2018).

Valerie Herskowitz, a mother of a son with autism, decided to take action before her son graduated high school. Valerie contacted various agencies, training directors, and programs for students with disabilities, but unfortunately could not find anything she felt would truly help her son (Herskowitz, 2016). Eventually Valerie realized that what was best for her son was right in front of her. She was in the pastry arts business, having taken classes as a hobby, which earned her a title as a chocolatier. Her son showed great interest in this, surprising her at first, but then gave her the idea of training her son in the business. Valerie explains that, "Many individuals on the spectrum often are drawn to particular areas - sometimes obsessively" (Herskowitz, 2016). However, her son never obsessed over anything, making the chocolate making process very meaningful and a fantastic bonding experience. Valerie decided to develop a program for young adults with developmental disabilities run directly out of her house. Through a long and difficult process Valerie developed The Chocolate Spectrum, a company with the mission to "Create Sweet Opportunities for Those with Autism" (Herskowitz, 2016). Valerie Herskowitz saw a need and jumped at the opportunity to help a community in need.

In Tampa Florida, award winning chef Tim Kauder has also taken steps to help the autism community (Daly, 2018). His student, Alejandro, has autism, and together they launched a program in partnership with Autism Shifts, an employment program for adults with Autism (Daly, 2018). Kauder describes how people with autism "can repetitively do things that other people would find boring" and in the process do things "to a level that's perfection" (Daly, 2018). Kauders student Alejandro, is extremely skilled in various areas in the restaurant business and has picked up tasks very quickly because of his attention to detail. Even though he was able to perform and excel at many tasks, Alejandro had been out of work for over a year. This program encourages local restaurants, as well as other employers, to hire adults with autism. Employers who hire Klauder's students also go through training to learn how to best support their employees with autism. (Daly, 2018). This is yet another example of how community members have a huge impact on the autism community, and how adults with autism can be successful in the workplace and improve a company's operations.

Activity: View this video (1 min, 30 sec) about Tim Klauder and his program. What skills do people with autism possess that chef Klauder say improves his restaurants services? How do these skills transfer/show useful to the workplace?

Leigh is a 39 year old adult with autism, who has a slightly different success story. Leigh's story is one of struggle, but involves hope for the future. From a young age, his mother realized Leigh did not behave like other children, having to communicate with Leigh in a visual way, rather than through verbal communication (Carr, 2017). For example, Carole, his mother, tried to get Leigh to stop banging on pots and pans in the kitchen when he was just a toddler, but only succeeded when finally writing the word STOP on a piece of paper (Carr, 2017). Though Leigh struggled with communication and social interaction he is completely capable and was very successful in school. In his own words, "I'm so high-functioning that I don't really register as disabled, but I'm not high-functioning enough that I can easily utilize anything social" (Carr, 2017). In high school Leigh once helped a fellow classmate with autism when he had accidentally cut himself while on a field trip but refused a bandage. Leigh was the only one who understood why the child would not use a bandage, and explained to him that the "strange sensation of the adhesive would be preferable to the pain of getting an infection from air exposure" (Carr, 2017).

Leigh may think differently, yet he holds a master's degree in library science with an IQ of 145. Leigh held a job in a Boston Library, but lost it "due to austerity measures" (Carr, 2017). Since then he has applied to a number of library positions, but unfortunately has not found a permanent job, other than at the local T.J. Maxx for minimum wage.

Leigh does not normally make it to the interview process, but when he does he explains how he is socially awkward and can be off-putting. Usually if there is another qualified candidate they will pick them because they are more socially welcoming. With the help of Cape Abilities, a local job placement service for people with disabilities, Leigh was able to improve his interview skills, as well as his resume.

People with autism often neglect to add details to their resume or speak of them in an interview that are not specifically asked (Carr, 2017). Leigh is detail oriented, so if an item is not specifically asked for on a resume, Leigh may not think to include it. In addition to this, Leigh is trustworthy and honest, qualities every employer wants. However, in an interview Leigh was asked how he would handle a group of volunteers at the library, to which he responded, "not well" (Carr, 2017). All of these struggles contribute to Leigh's struggle in finding employment. 

While there are programs out there to assist adults like Leigh, many stereotype and assume all people with autism are the same or like the same types of things. While many people with autism enjoy coding and are very skilled in computer programming and technology, Leigh strongly dislikes coding and gets upset when he is automatically put in this category.

The autism community is diverse and there is not one solution for employment that can be used for all adults with autism. Leigh has had his ups and down, finding employment temporarily and then continuing on his search for his career job. However, his mother explains that "in spite of the long search, and its many disappointments, her son has never complained about his limited professional options" (Carr, 2017). What makes Leigh's story a success story is his ability to persevere and bring to light the employment issues adults with autism continue to face, despite the many programs and services that currently exist. Leigh's senior quote in his high school yearbook stays true to his story, stating "why do we never get an answer when we're knocking at the door?" (Carr, 2017). By spreading awareness and advocating for employment opportunities for adults with autism hopefully this door will finally open for Leigh and many others on the autism spectrum.

 Autism Doesn't Hold me Back: I'm Moving up the Career Ladder (4 min) is a video about a young woman who works in an academic library. She discusses her struggles, but also her skills that help her be successful at her job. What has she done to help her employers better assist her in the workplace? What has helped her achieve her goals as well as inspire her to continue to reach for her career goals?