Article: Autism Awareness and Employers

[Guest guest]

Here's an article about helping employers see the advantages of hiring

people with autism spectrum disorders.

Hope this is helpful.

Dan

Dan Coulter

NOTE TO EDITORS: (We're distributing this article at no charge -- provided

you run it unedited and unchanged, including the About the Author and

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other communications. If you have any questions, please contact Dan Coulter

at <mailto:dan%40coultervideo.com> dan@... or 336-608-4224.)

ARTICLE:

AUTISM AWARENESS AND EMPLOYERS

By Dan Coulter

I saw a nice feature in the paper this morning about Autism Awareness

Month. Of course, in our family, every month is Autism Awareness Month.

Every day is Autism Awareness Day. Every minute is...you get the idea.

We've seen a lot of progress since our son was diagnosed with Asperger

Syndrome in 1997. Especially in the way the media is increasingly

portraying people with autism spectrum disorders as people and not aliens.

We're also making progress in raising awareness of adults on the autism

spectrum. For too many years, media stories focused on telegenic children.

Often in " look at this poor kid " stories which subtly encouraged audiences

to think, " Thank God that's not my child. "

Except, of course, now it more often is. More and more people are

realizing that someone in their immediate or extended family has autism.

They're also realizing that autistic children grow up to become autistic

adults. And they're finally seeing that many of these adults can work

alongside them and do a great job.

Consider Burry, a financial fund manger who foresaw the coming

subprime mortgage crisis and protected his clients' investments when the

market crashed.

Or Tori Saylor, a veterinary assistant whose sensitivity to animals helps

her keep patients calm during medical procedures.

The average person could meet or Tori and not immediately suspect

either was on the autism spectrum.

But many others with autism are characterized as " low functioning. "

Shore, author of the book, " Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences

with Autism and Asperger Syndrome, " says that " low functioning " is a low

functioning term.

Many people who have autism and significant challenges can be valuable

employees. They may have extraordinary attention to detail and the ability

to intensely focus on a task. Some are able to perform repetitive tasks

with much higher accuracy than typical coworkers. These capabilities depend

on the individual, not on the labels of autism or high or low functioning.

Whatever the level or complexity of the job, a few reasonable

accommodations may be all it takes to help a person with autism fit into a

workplace and be productive.

We need to help children on the spectrum find their strengths and become

as job-ready as possible, but we also need to lay some groundwork by helping

employers recognize and prepare to use their capabilities. While we're

making progress, we still have to correct simplistic, negative autism

stereotypes.

After World War II, a number of Ivy League college officials came to

Congress to testify against G.I. Bill provisions that would allow returning

servicemen to attend their schools. They complained these soldiers wouldn't

fit in and would lower the quality of education for other students.

Congress passed the bill anyway. The next year, the officials came back to

apologize. They said many veterans were among the best students in their

classes. They were dedicated and serious. They came not to party, but to

learn.

I look forward to the day when employers who have negative preconceptions

about people with autism come to similar realizations, and assess people

with autism on their individual merits. Let's use Autism Awareness Month to

bring that day closer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -- Dan Coulter is the producer of the DVD " Asperger

Syndrome at Work: Success Strategies for Employees and Employers. " You can

find more articles on his website: www.coultervideo.com.

Copyright 2011 Dan Coulter All Rights

Reserved. Used by Permission.