Summertime Blues

Ahh, the dog days of summer are upon us once again. For many this means a time to take a holiday and get away from the daily grind of work, life and routine. However, for others it is a time to focus on the fall and develop new employment strategies. Over the past two years I have been working with a variety of young adults in their 20s & 30s who are along the autism spectrum and those pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) such as learning disabilities. One of the great challenges for me has been to see how hard it is for them to find paying jobs. Whether it is an ability to search for work or companies not providing the right support for more 'high functioning' young adults with these types of disabilities is debatable. The fundamental question that I have been struggling with is how to connect the dots? A big movement within the disability field has been customized employment which has begun to gain real success with those with physical disabilities. However, with those with more cognitive disabilities or 'invisible' disabilities it is harder to pinpoint and create customized work places but beyond that those with more cognitive disabilities such as autism or learning disabilities need a greater infastructure to work with. This means job shadowing, social support and other options. Yet at the same time this can become an intrical part of the future of recruting & employment policy within organizations. As new college graduates enter the job market the dog days of summer is the time for companies to wake up & see a broader pool of young talented workers that can do things & want to work. I have a saying play to the strengths of the individual! It is time to take up this as a clarion call!