The Autism News | English


Todd Erdes clocks in at the Schwabe North America loading and distribution center every weekday, just like the rest of his coworkers.

He works out at the company gym, goes out after work to play darts or bowl and gets dressed up for the company Halloween party.

The main difference between the 31-year-old Green Bay man and the rest of his coworkers is his autism. Erdes’ superiors consider his work ethic second-to-none, and he earns more than $11 per hour.

“He brings a different sense of energy to this company. He’s an individual that wants to be here 24-7 if he could be,” said Isaac Oshefsky, distribution group leader at the manufacturing distributor formerly known as Enzymatic Therapy that produces nutritional supplements.

“It opened up my eyes.”

But Erdes is an outlier. Most people who spend 10 years in a sheltered workshop, which he did, never find jobs working alongside other nondisabled individuals for competitive wages in the community.

Competitive employment is an optimal outcome for many disabled adults and a means to escape poverty and complete dependence, according disability experts.

But the extent to which it can be achieved and the role played by sheltered workshops, the largest provider of work and rehabilitation services for the disabled, is a source of contention.

What’s at stake
In Green Bay, Diane Gustin started a gourmet popcorn company called Heart@Work Unlimited, which is focused on employing people with disabilities like her son, Drew Gustin, a 21-year-old with Down syndrome.

A longtime business owner, Gustin is convinced that many working-age adults with disabilities have the abilities, work ethic and enthusiasm to contribute to community businesses alongside the rest of the work force just like Drew and others who work with her. She also believes sheltered workshops — her son still works part time at ASPIRO — offer crucial services and training to people with disabilities to help them achieve employment.

As Gustin’s Heart@Work grows, she plans to offer employment opportunities to as many adults with disabilities as possible.

GreenBayPressGazette

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The Autism News | English


A TEESSIDE man with autism has proven his disability is no barrier to gaining a paid job despite the economic downturn.

Joe Scott, 22, from Coulby Newham, has gained a job working in the cafe of Cherry Hill Garden Centre on the outskirts of Middlesbrough.

The former Beverley School pupil has shown determination and hard work to get the job and become a valued member of staff.

Joe was helped into employment by Middlesbrough Councils FORWARDS Employment Support Service for People with Disabilities.

It gives people with disabilities in Middlesbrough, who want to work, guidance and support so they can get work.

Since it was created in 2008 FORWARDS has helped 90 people into paid work and 102 people into voluntary work.

Joe, who has a hobby of American wrestling, is now enjoying spending some of his wages on socialising with his friends and getting a new costume for his Scottish-themed wrestling alter-ego!

Joe said: I first joined up with FORWARDS a few years ago and did voluntary jobs.

They found Cherry Hill who agreed to take me for a trial for a few months before I took up the paid position. The work trial helped me get used to working here and it built up my confidence.

GazetteLive

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The Autism News | English


The statistics are startling.

In California alone, an estimated 84% of all regional center consumers with autism are under 22, the age when services from their local school districts end.

What will the job picture look like for this burgeoning population? According to Dr. Scott Standifer, author of Adult Autism & Employment: A guide for vocational rehabilitation professionals, the future of employment for adults with autism is more hopeful than you would think:

***

Since I first created the Autism Works conference in 2008, three other groups have “adopted” the same name. Who they are and what we are each doing to advance autism employment is a nice sampling of the different, vibrant approaches to this important field. (And we all get along).

The office for which I work at the University of Missouri provides training and consultation to State Vocational Rehabilitation (voc rehab) agencies in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, & Kansas. Across the US, state voc rehab agencies help people with disabilities find career-based jobs in their communities. A few years ago I became aware of a profound lack of information about autism in the voc rehab community, and about voc rehab in the autism community. I ended up writing a reference guide and starting my Autism Works National Conference.

The Autism Works National Conference is focused on two goals: 1) building better relationships between these two groups and 2) acting as a clearinghouse for all the inspiring, innovative, and energizing things that are happening around autism employment.

About 6 months after I started the conference, I got a call – from Autism Works.

This one was in San Mateo, California. It was a project of Community Gatepath, a “Community Rehabilitation Provider” (CRP). CRPs are independent businesses which voc rehab agencies hire to provide specific, hands-on training, job hunting, and job coaching services for voc rehab clients. Tracey Fecher of this Autism Works explained that the California Department of Rehabilitation had given them a grant to launch this special program tailored to serving adults with autism. In the last few years, more and more established CRPs have begun such programs. Tracey and I had a very nice chat and she ended up hiring my colleague Chris Simler to help train her staff.

Another 6 months later I found another Autism Works online – this time in Minneapolis, MN.

San Francisco Chronicle

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