Aug 31st 09 Posted by Barbara

Lisa’s Quality Rags, Owned and Operated by Woman with Autism

When a job with Goodwill ended because of funding cuts, the family of a 29-year-old woman with autism decided to set her up with her own business. When Lisa Witte first went to work at Goodwill at the age of 15, she was trained to take clothes out of boxes and put them on hangers. Her aide saw that she could do much more than that, despite not being able to read or write or say much more than “Hi,... read more

Aug 25th 09 Posted by Barbara

Autism Job Story: From small offices to fitness facilities

“Ian began job exploration about 4 years ago at age 15. First job was shredding documents for a local non-profit. This was a job that was ‘carved’ away from the already way too busy case managers. By Ian doing the shredding, the case managers gained productive work time to be used in managing the needs of the clients they serve. Unfortunately, this ‘job’ is unpaid and... read more

Aug 21st 09 Posted by Barbara

Autism Job Story: Laundry job is working out for low-functioning teen…

“My son who is low-functioning, nonverbal and has behavior problems has been doing laundry for a local physical therapy office for about a year now. The PT office has pillowcases, sheets and towels — all white and all rectangular to wash. My son and his job coach pick up and deliver the laundry to the PT office twice a day. They do the laundry either at our house or at school (it’s... read more