What To Do When the Bus Stops Coming – An Autism Job Story
Dan Burns’ son, Ben, spent his high school years in a pre-vocational work/study program. Under the guidance of his one-on-one school aide, Sharon, Ben accumulated quite a bit of work experience: he set tables at Luby’s Cafeteria, folded pizza boxes at CiCi’s Pizza, stocked video shelves at Walmart and swept the aisles at Ruibal’s Plants.
So after graduation, his parents were surprised when a letter arrived from the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, informing Ben that “Because of the severity of your disability, an employment outcome cannot be achieved. You are not eligible for rehabilitative services.”
Throughout high school, Sharon had supervised all of Ben’s pre-vocational experience, organized his work and kept him on task, but upon graduation, he had to leave her behind. Dan and his wife realized they were “unprepared for the magnitude of the challenges” Ben faced in the real world.
However, they have stepped up to the challenges, believing Ben deserves a place in this world. It also started Dan thinking about other young adults with autism and their job prospects.
To help others benefit from what they’ve learned, Dan wrote a book about their experiences, Saving Ben: A Father’s Story of Autism, published by the University of North Texas Press. It covers their journey together, starting with Ben’s regression as an infant, his diagnosis of autism at three and goes on into the challenges Ben is facing as a young adult.
In a post on the Texas A&M University Press Consortium blog, Dan offers a glimpse into some of those challenges and offers advice to others who are currently facing them (e.g. “Consider a summer job for your ASD child instead of summer school”), as well as ideas for a national agenda for living and learning with autism (e.g.”Create a service movement like Teach for America or AmeriCorps that employs young people as life coaches to work with ASD kids.”)
Click here to read more of Dan’s ideas and here for more information about Saving Ben: A Father’s Story of Autism.
