Over the past months, I have been investigating the different programs that exist and focus on helping people with Asperger's and on the ASD spectrum to find employment.
I interviewed the founders of 3 great programs and companies and their insights were very helpful. What came out of these exchanges was the efficiency of mentoring: the mentorship program helps students with Asperger's thrive socially and academically at York University in Toronto and makes it possible for people with high functioning ASD to contribute to IT companies in Germany (Auticon).
I guess I started this because, as I am working with the psychologist in Toronto and see my students thrive at school and as much as I would like them to be empowered past the age of 18, many questions remain as to what it is they can do on the market place and how to empower them at this stage.
This has lead me to conduct those interviews so I shall soon be able to launch my own program, empowering students with employability skills and making sure I can assist them with finding employment afterwards.
The little difference I see in the way I approach it - my vision some may say - can be summarized as follows: identify which specific tasks such or such students excel at and offer those specific tasks for the right price and an assurance of success to the company I will be approaching. In a way, working on skill matching.
The idea = matching a person (and their skills @ performing a certain task) with a company (that needs a certain task accomplished).