Friday, April 12, 2013

The Future of Autism Awareness


Autism is characterized by a set of behaviors that is subjective in nature. There is a human element involved that cannot be characterized through data or statistics. Everyone on the spectrum has a story to tell and they should be encouraged to tell those stories. The 1/50 numbers have been viewed as a wake-up call for many people.  Businesses are beginning to recognize that autism is not going to go away and cannot be ignored any longer. Many businesses are beginning to develop products and services to meet the needs of those on the spectrum.

We also need to help businesses see the potential value in hiring employees on the autism spectrum.  Those with lower functioning autism, under the right conditions, could potentially perform a simple, repetitive task with the efficiency of a factory machine.  Those with higher functioning autism, such as Aspergers, are being found more and more in the tech world working with computers.  With the numbers going up, for whatever reason, we need to help those who have been diagnosed with autism to best fit into the world.

Business executives don't like uncertainty and we need to help them see how people on the spectrum can be predictable if certain actions are taken and sensory issues are identified and removed. We also need to remove the misconceptions people have about autism and that's where awareness comes in.

Any thoughts?  Leave a comment below!

No comments:

Post a Comment