Employment

Employment can be challenging for kids with autism, especially right out of high school. Parents may even wonder what is in store for their child regarding employment. First, all public schools, by law, are supposed to help plan for employment starting before the 16th birthday. They are also supposed to help connect you to outside agencies that can help provide employment support. The main thing I want to share, though, is that I was given an article by an Occupational Therapist. The article was sent to her by her organization and it is about Walgreens. According to the article, Walgreens has set up some of its warehouses specifically employ people with autism. Supposedly, one of the upper managers has a child with autism and this is their brainchild. The interview process has even been modified to make getting hired much easier. Employees with autism also get a lot of on the job support. If you or someone you know has a child with autism, contact Walgreens. I have no idea which warehouses are set up like this though.

Autism Support Groups

I hosted a Autism support Group meeting in mid-December. It is held in the building I work in. Even though, I do not have a child with Autism, it is really my goal to be a of support for families as well as students in our school district. We are located in East Texas. There are no support groups nearby. My initial goal was to get it started and let the parents take it over but they don't seem interested in taking it over. As long as they want to show up, I will continue planning them and hosting them though. It does seem like parents really share information there (names of good doctors, each others phone numbers). At the last meeting, one parent talked about feeling a little bit socially isolated. She said that she had even had to stop going to church because of her son. Another parent told her about the church she goes to and how her son fits in. she invited the other parent to her church with her. The parent voiced excitement about going to church again. I think a lot of it has to do with the congregation and how much they know about autism and how the accept a child with autism. It is good for me to see how those parent connections can make a positive difference in someones life.

The kids come to the meetings too and we always have someone who knows about autism (a teacher or counselor) there to watch them. I also have plenty of toys and things on hand. I am just sharing because I really want to know what parents need. If you read this, please share. What would you like to get out of a parent support group meeting?