My first post in this section will highlight the very problematic situation relating to lack of adult education, training and employment initiatives and opportunities for adults on the autism spectrum.

The reality is that there are not many options out there for parents and caregivers as their child with autism enters adulthood. In Québec, there is very limited government funding when it comes to training and employment initiatives and more often than not, the adult with autism ends up living with his/her parents. All the while, he/she loses all the abilities and skills gained thru intensive early intervention and education received until high school. Families who are already exhausted by the autism whirlwind of the early years must then take on the additional burden of caring for the autistic adult until one or both parents can no longer do so due to illness, old age or death.

So what can we do as parents and advocates ?

First of all as I said on my Featured Post, we need to work together to promote awareness of the unique talents and abilities of these individuals, regardless of whether they are higher functioning or are non verbal and have more needs and  behaviours. We need to target federal, provincial and municipal governments as well as business leaders and local businesses in our communities to “let them know” that there is a huge talent pool and an untapped work force in the autism population. One that  has been underestimated and under-utilized. One that needs to be taken seriously.  Why ?? Because people with autism have a different intelligence, they have unique perspectives and different ways at looking at the world. Some have exceptional specific abilities in math, technology and music, others may not have specific talents but are extremely skilled at doing repetitive tasks that others may find tedious. And yes as advocates, we need to be a VOICE. We need to CONVINCE governments and business leaders that there is business value to hiring people with autism.

But in order for integration of people with autism in the workforce to be successful there needs to be appropriate ongoing support given to the businesses hiring/integrating. It is key for them to understand what adaptations and modifications need to be made in order to best accommodate the autistic individual’s needs and differences. For example, having them work in a quiet environment in order to take into account their sensory overload fears or having an educator/shadow accompany them at the beginning in order to make a smooth transition to the new workplace.

Another key issue that needs to be looked at when crafting an adult education, training and employment initiative is the fact that the autism spectrum is vast and that there is not one autistic person that is similar.  In this article I will highlight two types of initiatives targeting different autism populations. BOTH initiatives are urgently needed.

Specialisterne

With regards to employment of autistic adults who are verbal and higher functioning I will give the example of globally recognized recruiting firm Specialisterne http://specialisterne.com .

Specialisterne was founded in Denmark by Thorkil Sonne in 2004 and it operates in 14 countries including Canada. It’s mission is to find employment for people on the autism spectrum by matching the individuals’ specific talents and abilities  with the specific employer’s needs.

Specialisterne works closely with their autistic clientele as well as the prospective employer in order to ensure that the autistic employee’s greatest talents and strengths are highlighted thru the recruitment, hiring and employment integration process. As per their website : “Specialisterne is internationally recognized as the first and foremost example of how autistic adults can become effectively included in society and provide valuable high quality services to their employers”. I will do a more complete Blog Post on Specilisterne later on, so stay tuned.

The Blue Light Program

As for initiatives for autistic individuals with intellectual disabilities, I will highlight Québec’s own Blue Light Program (http://www.thebluelightprogram.com . I discovered the Blue Light Program this spring as I was desperately trying to find a summer camp for my son Nicolas.

The Blue Light Program is a non profit organization that was established in Kirkland Québec in September 2017. According to the program’s General Director Sayees Yogendran and its President Rino Varrichio (who himself has a child on the autism spectrum and runs a group home for adults with autism in the Kirkland area), the goal was to create a full-time day program for adults on the autism spectrum, including those with intellectual disabilities. Their mission is to provide clients with a calm, structured and supportive environment to encourage users to develop their autonomy and acquire the necessary skills to integrate and participate in society to their fullest potential. The program ran from September 2017 to June 2018. It is now on stand by as it awaits funds from a government grant. 

Among others, the following skills were addressed in their program: life skills  such as health and hygiene and cooking skills; communication and social skills; anxiety and stress management skills; use of public transportation, etc. 

In addition, more specific job related work abilities were addressed such as computer technology skills, time-management, problem-solving and decision making skills. 

There was also a work integration program in collaboration with the local supermarket Maxi. Among others, the students would, as independently as possible, have the task of visiting local restaurants, ask for empty cans and recycle them at the supermarket. Any monies received for the recycling would then be used by the student to choose and buy ingredients for a meal at the supermarket. The student would then come back to the center and as independently as possible follow a recipe and prepare a meal.

As the Program goes forward it will seek to have collaborations with other local businesses in order to expand the nature and variety of work placements for the students.

While running the Day Program for Adults, Mr. Varrichio and Mr. Yogendran had a lot of inquiries from families requesting additional services and the decision was made to start a Sports Summer Camp in 2018, which my son Nicolas attended. As most of you know there are not many summer camp alternatives for children on the autism spectrum, let alone adolescents and adults, who are non verbal and may have some behaviour issues.

The Blue Light Summer Camp focuses mainly on sports. A different sport is featured every week and a specialist in a particular sport trains and educates the camp participants. There are also cooking skills, arts and crafts as well as many educational outings such as visits to the Biodome and the Montreal Science Centre. For Nicolas, this was one of the greatest summer experiences he ever had. Lots of sports, fun activities and life skills were on the menu. Staff were knowledgeable about autism and campers were encouraged to do their best in every situation despite their limitations. Nicolas came back to school in the fall with a greater sense of self and autonomy.

At the 2018, Blue Light Summer Camp

Finally, another service that has been added by the Blue Light Program is that of providing educators for “shadowing”. Essentially this means that an educator accompanies the adult for a period of time to teach meaningful life skills either : (1) at home (cooking skills, doing laundry, sports activities, etc.) or (2) outside in the community (taking public transportation, shopping and paying for items, etc.). This enables the parent to take a well deserved respite while their child is learning life skills. 

Through their services, the Blue Light Program managed to give service to more than 70 families in their first year of operation.

In my next posts in this Category, I will try to feature different and innovative Adult Education, Training and/or Employment initiatives from around the world in order to inspire parents and organizations to think BIG and maybe start initiatives of their own in their own communities.