Within the next five years, an estimated 500,000 autistic teens will age out of the educational supports and services system under the federal IDEA act. These young adult autistics and others have rare skill sets that are highly sought after by many employers, yet most autistic adults have never held down a full time job, even those who are highly educated. What is keeping the neuro-divergent population out of the workplace and how can we as a community take steps to make this a more neuro friendly space?
Autism Career Pathways is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization created by the founders of Guiding Extraordinary Minds for the purpose of increasing employment for individuals with autism and related disorders, to create resources and training curriculum designed with input from autistic adults, and to create a better ‘common language’ for differently-abled adults and neurotypical workplaces.
Our programs seek to educate and empower small-to-medium business owners to hire differently-abled (DA) adults as interns or employees, to provide resources for home grown businesses and workplaces, to create tools and resources that any small business can use to assess, hire and manage employees with differing abilities nationwide and to promote a sense of belonging and a space for personal growth within each workplace through a mentorship curriculum.
Components of the ACP program include an activity-based Career Assessment Screening Tool generating a portfolio and a color-coded career aptitude summary, a supporting Workplace Mentorship curriculum, a parent/caregiver training protocol, a DA adult training program to work on defined areas of need and ongoing support in the form of in -person, online resources and monthly classes.