Key Facts:
Fact 1:
About 1 in 54 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Fact 2:
Nearly 42% of young adults on the autism spectrum never worked for pay during their early 20s.Fact 3:
More than half of young adults with autism remain unemployed. Over the next decade, an estimated 707,000 to 1,116,000 teens (70,700 to 111,600 each year) will enter adulthood.Fact 4:
An “autism ready®” workplace means more than adjustments to lighting or sound. Businesses need to establish systematic protocols to hire, train and retain a diverse workforce. The Autism Workforce model involves this Autism Ready protocol:
- job identification & customization,
- universal hiring process,
- staff training & enlightenment talent,
- onboard new talent
- management coaching & employee reviews.
This creates a culture that balances the business’ needs with greater patience and flexibility.
The approaches and techniques developed by the Autism Workforce team have the potential to positively impact a much larger and broader population of neurodiverse individuals. In this work lies the possibility of moving from thousands to millions of neurodiverse employees.
–Rob D. Austin, Professor, IVEY Business School