Adults on the autism spectrum can benefit the work force: how one New Jersey advocacy agency is paving the path to employment.

As people nationwide recognize the merit of observing October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month, more needs to be done to help interested adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) access jobs. ASDs affect 1 in 150 children nationally, and 1 in 94 in New Jersey, which has the nation's highest rate. One premier autism advocacy organization, the New Jersey Center for Outreach and Services for the Autism Community (COSAC), believes that the key to increasing work options for adults with autism centers on awareness and education. The agency's approach is twofold: rally the business community and educate families.

The shift from childhood to adulthood can be demanding and complex. When working with families, COSAC stresses the importance of ensuring that children on the autism spectrum have the opportunity to participate in functional, vocational training to gain necessary skills to get a job and live independently. This is vital because most individuals with ASDs require multiple opportunities to learn skills that can lead to success on a job. "We encourage parents and professionals who support school-aged individuals to look toward the future and be sure that students' Individualized Education Programs include the acquisition of essential, marketable skills in the areas of communication, functional academics, socialization, navigation, and appearance," said COSAC Executive Director Linda Meyer, EdD. MPA. "We also teach parents about transition planning, which helps ease the move from school to adulthood for students with ASDs."

A planning goal for some families is entry into the work force, which will need additional workers. New Jersey has experienced slower economic growth; the unemployment rate, which was 4.2 percent in June 2007, is now at 5.3 percent. Despite the recent economic slowdown, the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the impending retirement of the baby boomers will reduce the size of the work force and put a greater burden on individuals remaining in the work force, perhaps forcing them to work longer hours. Services may suffer and needs could go unmet unless older workers can be retained or other sources of workers can be found. One source of workers is the population of adults with autism.

"Smart companies with proactive leaders are always looking for the next untapped labor pool; adults with ASDs are an untapped labor pool with untapped potential," said COSAC Public Policy and Systems Advocacy Director, Leslie Long. She consults with supportive employment providers to engender a better understanding of the specific learning styles of adults with ASDs. COSAC also sponsors training and advises state and local committees in efforts to unite employers, potential employees, and professionals. "The primary mission of our department is to continually reinforce the need for public policy that removes barriers and increases opportunities for adults with ASDs to enter the competitive work force," Long said.

"If we can develop a system where we have adequate supports in place for employment for people with autism, we might not only maintain the current size of the work force with good employees, we can add people to the work force, and that's only going to lower labor costs for employers," said Andrew Abere, PhD, a Senior Economist at Princeton Economics Group in Princeton, New Jersey and father of a teenage son with autism. "Employers recognize that they can hire employees with autism and that many are productive, ambitious, dedicated, and responsible--sometimes more so than the non-disabled work force. It also gives the person with autism a sense of dignity and being a part of the community," Abere said.

Many adults with autism first experience work options via supported employment, which facilitates competitive work in integrated work settings. This model encourages people to work within their communities and promotes social interaction. One such provider is the Arc of New Jersey's Project HIRE, which assists individuals in choosing a job and provides employment training specialists, or job coaches, who train them to do a good job. "The goal is to match people to a job according to their ability and interest and teach them to eventually perform the job independently," said Project HIRE's Assistant Director, Frank DeLucca. Once training is complete, the coach continues to visit the work site to make sure things are going well. "I've seen adults with autism get a variety of jobs," DeLucca said. "In the few occasions when an employer was initially reluctant, the same employer returned to us a few months later and asked if we had anyone else who would like to join his staff."

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COSAC encourages the business community to recognize that providing services and supports for adults with autism on the job can lead to success. Several business leaders concur. "Diversity in the work place, whether it's people with autism, cognitive disabilities, or physical disabilities, adds value to the work force," said Kurt Landgraf, President and CEO of Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, New Jersey. ETS employs several individuals with disabilities, including Kevin Petranich, who has autism. Kevin is a fulltime Clerical Assistant in the Interoffice and Distribution Services Department. He lives with his family in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, commutes to his job via public transportation, and has been employed by ETS since 2001. "ETS has been fully supportive of Kevin in terms of outside job coaches and on-the-job natural supports," said Kevin's mother, Kathy Moore. "His supervisors have established a relationship with his job coaches and carved out an individualized system to support him toward his fullest potential. They've paired Kevin up with coworkers, mentors, and friends on the job to help support him. More importantly, they include Kevin as one of the team."

"Businesses have a responsibility to their community to help people who need a little extra advantage to move up," noted Landgraf. "There are all kinds of things to improve employees so, I don't see what the big deal is to have special job coaching for people who need that to improve their productivity. All kinds of people with disabilities add to our work place, not just by making it a more diverse place, but by bringing skills and attitudes that we wouldn't find in another population. It is really a good idea from a business perspective. This is not philanthropy. People with disabilities bring amazing value to the organization. On the whole, they have lower absentee rates. Their sick time rates are much lower, and they take their jobs tremendously seriously."

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Thirty-one-year-old Adam Zoroni has autism and Fragile X syndrome. He works as a part-time Clerical Assistant at Global Associates in Metuchen, New Jersey. "Adam is a very cheerful, upbeat individual who became part of the team," said agency president Phil Provenzano. "He knows everybody by name; the employees know his name and look forward to seeing him every day. His work ethic, warm personality, and great sense of humor are real assets." Adam files paperwork under the supervision of his job coach who reports that he makes more frequent eye contact and uses full sentences to engage in conversation with his co-workers. "I like working at Global because it is fun, and I do a great job," Adam said. "I got a paycheck today, and I will put it in my bank account."

A man with autism in his thirties, Steven Greenberg works on a maintenance crew at several central New Jersey Wawa stores. "Steven is capable of contributing to society, not just taking from it," said his father, Norman Greenberg. "I want him to work as much as he can work, do whatever he can to support himself, and support his community. I want him to do that, and I think the community wants him to do that."

"Many adults on the spectrum can and want to contribute to the economy through a valued role in the competitive work force," Long posited. "The global economy and advanced technology present a unique opportunity to look at the work force in a broader way. Companies know that to remain successful, they need to invest in diverse human capital such as adults with autism. In addition to the skills adults with ASDs offer as employees, they represent the face of the current and future customer-driven market. There is no denying that people with disabilities and their families support companies that understand and appreciate the disability community."

Increasing employment options of adults with ASDs includes educating employers, families, and the general community about where the job supports are, what unique skills individuals with ASDs possess, and what the future job market looks like. COSAC will publish a guide to employment in New Jersey for individuals on the autism spectrum. The guide will be accessible on COSAC's Web site (www.njcosac.org) and available by calling COSAC at 609-883-8100, extension 48. "This publication represents an educational tool for anyone interested in supporting job development for an individual on the spectrum," Long said.

"I'll tell you what I tell other employers," Landgraf said. "I want nothing more or less from employees with disabilities than I want from every other employee. I want productivity. I want them to pay attention to their job, and I want them to have the opportunity to reach their potential in a safe work place."

Professional psychologist, Dr. Daniel Gottlieb, is the host of National Public Radio's Voices in the Family program and grandfather to Sam, a young child with autism. He hopes that employment options for people with disabilities will have significantly improved by the time Sam becomes an adult. "I'm hoping there will be more jobs for Sam, more than are available to today's adults with autism," Gottlieb said. "I hope employers will understand these people's humanity, their skills, and the gifts they bring."

Hope Arvanitis is Communications and Marketing Director at the New Jersey Center for Outreach and Services for the Autism Community in Ewing, New Jersey.