During my first year of teaching, I had the pleasure to teach a student named Bill. Bill was famous around town for memorizing every U.S. President and Vice President. All you had to do was say a number like "23" and Bill would instantly respond, "Benjamin Harrison whose Vice President was Levi P. Morton". He would always say it in that exact format, "___________ whose Vice President was ___________.

He could do the same for Oscar winners for every major category.

Did you know that All the King's Men won the Oscar for best picture in 1949?

Bill does.

Really? Yes. It just all depends on the task at hand.

Bill thrived on routine. One day after the dismissal bell rang, Bill stood in my doorway and said, "See you tomorrow Mr. M".

I responded, "Yes you will and I'll be happy to see you."

The next day he said it again. So did I.

This occurred the following day as well.

Uh oh. That made three days in a row. Some experts argue that three days is all that it takes for a person with ASD to form a new and nearly unbreakable habit.

In Bill's case, those experts were exactly right. For the remainder of the year, Bill would not leave my classroom until he heard me say, "Yes you will and I will be happy to see you." One day I had a meeting right after class. I needed to gather up some papers for the meeting. As the bell rang and students filed out, I continued to collect my materials. Because I'm a bit disorganized, this took approximately 5 minutes. When I finally had all the reports I needed, I headed toward my door.

Bill was still patiently standing there. As I starred at him, I could feel a look of confusion cover my face. A few seconds later, as my confusion faded, I quickly exclaimed, "Yes you will and I will be happy to see you."

Bill smiled and headed to his next class.

Bill happens to have Autism Spectrum Disorder. At the time, we referred to his diagnosis as Asperger's Syndrome.

Bill was a great kid. He was smart, kind and a bit quirky. But it was a nice quirky. I always imagined he'd be ok after high school. I pictured him working in a place that he could utilize his amazing memory like a library or museum.

Bill still lives in my neighborhood. A few years ago he approached me while I was mowing my lawn. During the small talk, I asked what he was doing for a living. A huge grin covered his face as he exclaimed, "I'm working in a factory! And I love it!".

Of course he was. And of course he did. This kid loved routine. He craved it. He needed it. A factory was perfect for him.

These stock photos are so funny. No-one can be that happy at their job. Bill is.

That factory is incredibly lucky to have him as an employee.

Why is the factory lucky?

Because of Bill's need for routine, his memory, and attention to detail, Bill is an ideal employee.

• He will never be late
• He will quickly learn and master the steps involved in doing his job
• He will rarely make a mistake while doing what others would consider an overly-repetive task
• He will never take longer breaks than he is allowed
• He will be a happy employee who does not complain and enjoys his job (The routine of factory work is heaven to Bill)

What made me deiced to write about Bill today?

Yesterday I saw this post written by @iamcafe. Although I don't speak Korean, the message was clear. These coffee shops are hiring people with special needs because the owner "wanted to show young people with disabilities and their families that the world is a place where they can dream." (Thank you Google translate!)

The Cause Cafe in Long Island is on the same mission. You can buy a cup of coffee anywhere... but how often can you support a good cause while doing it?

April is Autism awareness month. @iamcafe 's post made me think about Bill and how happy he was with his job. It also caused me to wonder how other people with ASD were able to make a living.

I did a little research and found a few articles (please see below).

Sadly, I discovered that over 90% of people with ASD are unemployed or underemployed.

However, I think that is going to start to change for the better.

Why?

All of the articles I read had one thing in common. There are companies out there that are purposely trying to hire people on the Autism Spectrum. These companies aren't doing this out of pity or charity. These companies are changing their hiring practice for the same reason just about every company does every thing they do... they want to make a ton of money.

Many employers are beginning to discover what that factory knows about Bill... some people with ASD have some very desirable skills and abilities.

Although just like any group of people, it is impossible to make a blanket assumption that covers every individual with ASD, employers are noting that many of the members of this group have some or all of the following beneficial attributes:

• Excellent visual perception
• Ability to remain highly focused
• Ability to analyze data
• Mathematical problem solving
• Attention to detail
• Scanning large amounts of information and spotting anomalies
• Fixation on a subject can lead to them becoming an expert on it
• Ability and desire to perform repetitive tasks

One of my favorite examples of a businesses hiring people on the Autism Spectrum is Rising Tide carwash in Parkland, Florida. This business hires many people who are not on the higher functioning end of the spectrum. Tom D'Eri started the business in order to ensure that his son, who has ASD, and others like him would have a place to work. The car wash uses an innovative technique of dividing the hand washing of a car into two sections (driver and passenger). A team of two employees with ASD works together to complete the 85 individual steps required to complete the wash. Because the workers are so detailed oriented, they very rarely miss a step.

Rising Tide gives their employees a sense of pride and accomplishment.... and a paycheck. The employees give the company their talents and hard work... and hopefully a nice profit.

But providing an opportunity for his son and others with disabilities is not D'Eri's only goal. Like any businessman, he wants to make a huge profit. He also knows that if he does, perhaps other businesses will follow his lead and look for non-traditional employees who have skills that can give a business a competitive advantage.

Honestly that is what any good business does. They look for employees who have a skill set who will help them to earn a profit. Luckily, some employers are discovering that perhaps some people with ASD possess these types of skills.

Perhaps Andy Travagalia, who owns the bakery Lee & Marie's Cakery, sums it up best (and a bit colorfully). When speaking about the fact she hires people with ASD, Travagalia says, "Autism is not a business model. The business has to be the business. I can't employ anyone if I don't have a fucking great product". She simply knows that just because a person has ASD, it doesn't mean they can't help her to make an f'ing great product... or an f'ing huge profit.

This bakery knows that hiring people with ASD can help them to make some serious dough... yeah I went there.

These examples all involve some kind of physical labor... but it would be silly to think that those jobs would be a match for everyone with ASD. In fact, jobs in computers, accounting, technology, and publishing could be a perfect match for many more people on the spectrum. This is why companies like Microsoft are making it a point to seek out candidates with ASD.

Perhaps in the not too distant future, all companies will look at a person on the Autism Spectrum and not see a challenge, a label or a disability. They will see a person with unique abilities who can give their company a competitive advantage.

Wait. Maybe the employers will see a label after all. But that label will say...

Valuable

Original artworkk by the sensational @rigaronib

Sources

https://www.inc.com/magazine/201506/jeff-chu/making-it-work-the-spectrum-of-debate.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/12/autism-workplace/510959/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/07/autism-employment_n_7216310.html

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