jobs4autism.com » characteristics

Getting Asperger’s Students Ready to be Independent

tdomf_7a1de — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:08:09 +0000

My twin girls, aged 22, are the most important people that I deal with on a daily basis. They are delightful and funny. They can talk about just about any topic that you might choose. However, should a glass of milk spill in front of them neither one would know what to do about the mess.

I have spent many years trying to anticipate the challenges that can stop them cold in their tracks. They are remarkably resilient and very determined. It does not help that no one believed that they had any issues while they were in elementary school or middle school. Each girl was able to act appropriately while in class. However, when they were released, they were unruly and abusive. We now know that they had been expending energy just to make it through the school day. It did not help that they were often correcting the factual errors that their teachers made during the day.

Their knowledge of history, mathematics, and English literature and grammar made it difficult for them to sit in class and hear their teachers make incorrect or inaccurate statements. AND, science class was even worse!

They are each currently enrolled in junior college. Each could probably teach several of the classes they have been forced to attend. However, their ability to use executive function skills has been a detriment in their advancement.

If you wanted to find a position that would use their talents, each child would be an asset for the companies that accepted them. They might need a mentor to assist them with the hidden curriculum of their environment.

I would love to talk more about the support group that we run in this area, and to find out what employment is available to those on the autism spectrum.

I could go on forever about this topic, but I wanted to be succinct right now.

thumbnail image from bundles of blossoms

Living her dream, despite autism: an Autism Story

Barbara — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:51:42 +0000

I am a divorced, single mother of three children-two girls and a boy. My son is 14 and was diagnosed with PDD-Nos when he was four yrs old. He is currently living with his father being that he needed a male role model. He also is thought to have aspergers.

I can relate being that I also had to struggle with autistic and sensory issues as a child. My cousin also struggled with mild autism-he is currently married with three children-all his kids are normal.

I am currently attending online college working on my bachelors degree in medical services management. I am also in the air force reserves (I got in with several waivers back in 1987). So you can see-it runs in my family along with depression and adhd. I also have adhd along with my youngest daughter. She doesn’t have autistic tendencies-very outgoing child. I also had to work through mild learning disability as a child.

My son is in cross-cat special ed classes. He is very comical, really-very funny kid- tries to not let his disability get in the way of enjoying life. He was diagnosed (like me when I was small) with being mildly retarded. I dislike that word very much.

I was wondering - is there proof that there may be a genetic link to autism or autistic/sensory issues? I am still quirky at times, myself. I am hoping that once I get my bachelors degree, I will be able to be put in a position to encourage or inspire others who have children or loved-ones with mild disabilities to keep working with them and not lose hope on the possibility that they may still be able to live their dreams. I am living proof of that along with my cousin. My son is working through his disability right now.
PS- I am currently carrying a 4.0 GPA -a miracle in itself

Autism Job Placement: An Autism Resource

Barbara — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:49:12 +0000

Natural Learning Concepts manufactures materials for autism, speech and cognitive delays. Founders Jene Aviram and Joselyn Blum say the company’s goal is “to increase language and communication skills of children who fall on the autistic spectrum or have development delays while showing them how much fun it is to do so.”

All of the illustrators they employ are on the autism spectrum, and that got them thinking, if we can do this, others can, too. So in 2007, Aviram and Blum launched a new resource to help those on the spectrum find employment: Autism Job Placement.

Their theory is “if you can get on-line, you can get a job!”

The site is set up in forum-style, where employers who are interested in quality of work, who are willing to look beyond interview or interpersonal skills to a potential employee’s unique skills and abilities, post job openings.

Potential employees post information about themselves and about the type of job they’re seeking. Both groups can look over what has been posted in hopes of a match in location, skills and interest.

For those employers who might have doubts about hiring someone on the spectrum, basic information is offered about autism, including this list:

Good reasons to hire people with autism and Asperger’s
- Many have the ability to focus intently on projects.
- Others are very detailed and excel in any position requiring this skill.
- Some are excellent at finding imperfections and make top notch editors.
- With excellent research abilities, many make outstanding technical writers.
- Often they have a wealth of knowledge and have excellent computer skills.
- Some have excellent catalog and sorting skills.
- Others excel in routine work and never miss a beat.
- Typically people with autism are punctual, loyal and dedicated employees who prefer to remain in the same company for a long period of time.

This is a free service and it’s not limited to location. Please help spread the word!
Click here to go to the forum and get started posting jobs or job requests.

Finally figured it out late in life – an Asperger’s Job Search Story

tdomf_7a1de — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:17:58 +0000

My son is nearly 21yrs old and it is only recently that I’ve figured out that he could literally be the poster child for Asperger’s Syndrome (wonder if they need a model…). He just recently finished his 2nd year of college, and although he struggled greatly due to social problems in elementary school, we moved him from public to private school where the problems decreased a bit, and his grades improved dramatically. I’m not saying that the social “strangeness” changed. Let’s face it, kids with Asperger’s are always the oddball and usually the target of bullies.
He was tested for ADD/ADHD, etc.. when he was younger, but it was during a time when all of the counselors just wanted to label every kid with ADHD and put them on a pill. I was once completely against medicating my children, but if they came out with a pill to treat Asperger’s tomorrow… I would be the first in line!
We’re now looking for a job. I say “we” because he’s now making me frustrated. He applied for jobs via walk-ins, he’s had a single job that lasted all of 3mos his entire life – but he knows what he’s doing. The fact that he took his friend, younger brother, and cousin along with him while asking for applications was probably the first reason that any applications that he filled out were filed in the “circular bin”. The next knock against him was being dressed in heavy metal tee-shirts and putting no effort into his appearance prior to going out to ask for applications… and we’re not even going to talk about how long it took me to get it through his head that the employers are not obligated to call, interview him or tell him that they’ve decided on another applicant.
Talking on the telephone is another hurdle. Time and time again he has been told that the first thing he should do is introduce himself – it doesn’t matter if it is the person he is looking to speak with or the Pope on the other end of the phone, the first words out of his mouth should be “Hello, my name is….”. I cringe and make sure I’m not holding anything heavy to throw across the room because I can bank on the first words out of his mouth being “Who’s this” – after he is the one that dialed the call!
I am currently looking for information as to how to go about having him tested now that he is older. It was a really touchy situation trying to explain that I think he has a problem, but I was able to get him to agree to seeing people that could help him because they would have resources on finding him a suitable job. This really needs to happen, I don’t like the idea of him being labeled, but it is the only way to get him the services that are needed to help him.
It is so difficult being the parent of a grown child with this problem – especially after both of us have suffered through the battle of his social quirkiness for so long already. There is no way to give him constructive criticism without it sounding like I am bashing him, but as bright as he is (and he is very intelligent), he just does not have the capacity to realize that some of his behaviors and the things that he says are at times inappropriate, and now that he is older, I can honestly say that it sometimes makes him sound like he’s a real jerk.
If I can pass anything on from my experiences, it would be to allow your child to be labeled at a young age – these children can usually function on a normal to above average intelligence level and will not need special classrooms. However, the teacher will be empowered by knowing how to deal with things and it will also be helpful if the students in the childs’ classrooms are also educated on the condition because they will be less likely to tease a child if they know that there is a reason why the child sometimes does things differently and will be less inclined to ostracize your child.

Aspie Mama – An Asperger’s Job Story and a Bit of Advice

Barbara — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:21:41 +0000

I have six children, three of whom have Aspergers/PDD-NOS — and my hubby is an undiagnosed Aspie. I am fairly certain I have some aspects myself, as my hubby is just like my father and brother! Husband is a graduate of Stanford University — 2 degrees in EE. He has been employed as an engineer w/the same company for over 20 years now. He finds a lot of aspects of his job challenging, as he just doesn’t “get” the social stuff very well. But he is a hard worker, brilliant, and somehow, has managed.

I have been home with the kids for 20 years now, and we homeschool. We love it. Three of our boys are very quirky, and our oldest has had great difficulty. He attempted university, but came back home after a semester. He is now going to community college, has just moved into an apartment, and is working PT. He has great difficulty finding and keeping jobs, too, as he also has fibromyalgia, and is in pain a lot of the time. There are a lot of challenges in life, but we just take it one day at a time. Peace to you all — stay positive, and continue to reach out and seek help!

Transition is Key to Job Success for Microfilmer – Autism Job Story

Barbara — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:46:20 +0000

Nancy Henn, a woman in her late thirties with significant autism, has worked 40 hours a week at union scale and full benefits in the same job for over 13 years. According to an article written by her mother, Marilyn Henn, for Autism Spectrum Quarterly in 2005, Nancy’s duties include microfilming, catching metered mail, doing inter- and intra-departmental mail delivery, and making notepads. Her mother states that one of the keys to Nancy’s employment success was a lengthy and well-planned transition process from school to work, while she was a student.

Five years before Nancy Henn graduated from high school, her parents initiated a transition plan for her which included four years of work in the community in order to help her develop the skills she needed for a real job in the real world. Marilyn Henn writes that “one of the biggest mistakes made in preparing individuals with disabilities for the workaday world is that of starting too late. The time to prepare the student for the transition from school to employment in the community is while the student is still in school, not after he or she graduates.” In the article, she points out that while people with disabilities spend 17-22 years in school, they spend 40 plus years as adults.

Essentially nonverbal except for a few words, gestures, and some sign language, Nancy tests in the lower 10% of all those with autism. She sometimes has tantrums, which have involved kicking, screaming, biting, pica, and self-injurious behavior including jumping out of a second-story window.

Nevertheless, she works 40 hours a week, thanks to the support of a full-time behavior support specialist/job coach that she pays for from her work earnings, which allows her the dignity of paying for what she needs to be successful and “removes the argument that long-term on-going supports are not affordable.”

When Nancy was still a high school student, Kent State University’s Cooperative Transition Services Program placed her in the Kent State library, tasked with picking up books left on tables and in cubicles. She started out working only one hour per day, one to two days a week, but soon she was working five days a week.

A year before Nancy graduated from high school, her parents started hunting for a paid job in the community. Mrs. Henn writes, “We felt this was a must, because statistics show that if a person with a disability seeking work upon graduation does not have that job before he or she graduates, that person only has a 20% chance of becoming employed after graduation when the supports are no longer mandatory.”

Nancy’s parents went through the Rehabilitation Services Commission/Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation, but subcontracted the actual job find work to Rachel, a Kent State graduate student in the Center for Innovation in Transition and Employment. who contacted them weekly. After approximately nine months, Nancy began work as a mail clerk/messenger while still in school.

Not only is Nancy employed, she lives in her own home with three other young ladies with different disabilities in a “Family Consortium” model of supervised group living.

In 1999, Nancy was the national “Personal Achievement” award winner for The Association for Persons in Supported Employment (A.P.S.E.), and in 2003 she won the national “Outstanding Individual with Autism” award from the Autism Society of America (ASA). In addition to these awards, she “is considered the most productive microfilmer in her department, since she microfilms at rates that are two and one half times faster than her nearest non-disabled co-worker.”

Marilyn and Joe Henn currently share their experience with their daughter at presentations around the country. Their upcoming speaking schedule is:

10/3/09-Marilyn presenting at Kent State University on School to Work Transition (Kent, Ohio)

10/17/09- Joe presenting at the Sheraton Hotel in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for Kent State University on Budgeting & funding the adult life of a person with significant disabilities for Kent State University

10/19/-10/20/09-Joe & Marilyn present their “Possibility Thinking” module set for ESC XIII in Austin Texas

* School to work transition with funding for long term supports

* Residential choice making featuring the “Family Consortium” model

* How to pick an adult service provider for employment, fiscal and residential services

* Legal issues facing the individual with disabilities and their family including writing the

Letter of Intent

10/31/09-Joe & Marilyn presenting their residential module at the National DCDT (Division on Career Development on Transition) Conference in Savannah, Georgia

12/03/09-Texas State Autism Conference in Corpus Christi-Joe & Marilyn presenting their school to work with funding module twice from 8am-11:30am & from 1:00-4:30pm

2/10/10-Joe & Marilyn presenting their school to work with funding module from 8:30-noon in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

3/20/10-Joe & Marilyn presenting all day in Oak Park, Illinois their school to work and residential modules