Workers with Asperger Syndrome or autism can fill workplace needs
April is National Autism Month and advocates around the country having been taking advantage of the focus on awareness to bring workplace issues to people's attention. The jobless rate for adults with autism or its more mild form, known as Asperger's Syndrome, is already high, and advocates fear it will get worse in years to come, as 1 in 110 children in the US today has been diagnosed with one of the two disabilities. Further, about half of those with the disability do not qualify for state-funded disability services, and so have to find employment on their own. The Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training says they have had people on the wait list for job-related services for up to seven years, leaving those affected unemployed for long periods of time, and without a way of practicing skills acquired in school or training. With the current recession, money for training disabled workers is in short supply across the country.
See "Workers with Asperger Syndrome or autism can fill workplace needs", Diane Stafford, Kansas City Star, April 21, 2010