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This is the kind of thinking we need to see more of.  It's gradually getting there, but please share this article with others - I think articles like this can really help people understand individuals o

Source:  http://economy.kansascity.com/?q=node/6889

Workers with Asperger Syndrome or autism can fill workplace needs Do you need a worker who pays attention to detail? Who will do tedious data entry job? Who won’t waste time gossiping?

You might find that you need someone with autism or Asperger Syndrome.

This is National Autism Month. Advocates have geared up to share sobering statistics about the increasing numbers of children with the diagnosis.

Adults with autism or its milder form, Asperger’s, have a hard time finding jobs now. What will the jobless rate be for that group when — if current statistics are correct — the 1 in 110 children who have autism try to become employed?

“As it is now, lots of people with autism or Asperger’s are looking for full-time jobs, but their gifts are not recognized,” says Sean Swindler, director of community program development at the Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training. “Our challenge is finding jobs that fit them.”

Swindler tells of a successful job placement: A man with autism works in a bank, running cash from the tellers’ windows to the vaults.

“He deals in very black and white thinking,” Swindler explains. “He’s absolutely honest. He has very strong attention to detail. When he’s handed the money it will go into the vault. Always.”

Others are great at computer work.

But when advocates for hiring such individuals visit with employers, they often run into stumbling blocks:
The organization is downsizing.
It can’t see how to “job carve” — to draw duties from existing positions to fit the person with a disability.
It doesn’t have the comfort level or knowledge to deal with the individual.
It worries about costs and productivity.

Groups like Swindler’s try to educate.

“People with these disabilities who are leaving school now are not expecting to be in sheltered workshop environments. They’re expecting to be a full member of the community, the way their education has prepared them to be,” Swindler says.

But vocational rehabilitation money, which funds job coaches who train and place persons with disabilities in the workplace, is in desperately short supply, a victim of pared-down state budgets.

“We have people on the waiting list for seven years,” Swindler says of those wanting job-related support services. “They sit in their parents’ houses for years, losing all the skills they were taught in school.”

Furthermore, he notes, about half the people with Asperger’s or autism don’t qualify for state-funded disability services, “so they’re completely on their own in the job market.”

Temple Grandin, an animal scientist who is perhaps the most famous person with autism in America today, has co-authored a book with writer Kate Duffy on “Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism.”

It is a practical guide for persons with those disabilities and their families.

In a tight job market, it’s hard to advocate for special cases, but it’s something that has to be done, or lots of tax dollars are wasted and talents lost.

Diane Stafford's workplace columns are published on Thursdays in The Kansas City Star.

Submitted by Diane Stafford on April 21, 2010 - 11:00pm.
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OCALI (the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence) is pleased to announce the release of the new Autism Internet Modules (AIM) logo and updated AIM website. New modules have been posted to the site. A sampling includes: Time Delay, Reinforcement, and Self-Management, which join other titles including Visual Supports, Assessment for Intervention, and Transitioning Between Activities, and many others previously posted to AIM. The refreshed look of AIM is designed to better enable users to find the information and support they need. Modules feature videos, charts, pictures, case studies and a glossary of key terms. Discussion questions and activities are designed to extend the learning, providing options outside the online environment to facilitate discussion and application of the content. Parent support groups, university faculty, or professional developers can use these questions and activities in face-to-face trainings. Access AIM for free at www.autisminternetmodules.org

Arthur, the popular PBS show, will introduce a new friend this week with Asperger's syndrome as part of the storyline, the Autism Society of America reports. Carl is a new character on the show with Asperger's, a form of autism. He likes to draw trains and talk about facts about them.

The cartoon also has a live-action segment that shows kids on the autism spectrum going to therapeutic horseback riding and going to school.

Executive Producer Jacqui Deegan said in a release. "We hope that ‘When Carl Met George’ will help children gain some understanding of Asperger’s Syndrome and other forms of autism and realize that the unique traits of individuals are what make them so special."

Arthur, the popular PBS show, will introduce a new friend this week with Asperger's syndrome as part of the storyline, the Autism Society of America reports.

Carl is a new character on the show with Asperger's, a form of autism. He likes to draw trains and talk about facts about them.

The cartoon also has a live-action segment that shows kids on the autism spectrum going to therapeutic horseback riding and going to school.

Executive Producer Jacqui Deegan said in a release, "We hope that ‘When Carl Met George’ will help children gain some understanding of Asperger’s Syndrome and other forms of autism and realize that the unique traits of individuals are what make them so special."

This is my first attempt to put together a site that allows easy access to articles, videos, forums and a variety of other information.  I simply wanted to share the resources I have with others, and encourage others to do the same by sharing their own resources and ideas here.  Some of you  may be new to forums - don't be afraid - once active, forums are one of the best and easiest ways to share information.  You can be relatively anonymous, ask questions, and replies will get sent to you by email (or check back in here regularly).  Please let me know what you have difficulty with, or what you want to see more or less of.  This space is OURS - tell me what you want, and I will do my best to make it happen!

Casey