Autism town hall this Friday!

Posted by Patricia Wright on November 10th, 2009

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Safeway and Easter Seals working together

Posted by Beth Finke on November 4th, 2009

An article in Reuters last week touts Safeway Inc. for the generous grants it gives to Easter Seals to empower children and adults with autism and other disabilities.

Safeway executives unveiled the 2009 Safeway Foundation’s Empowerment Grant award winners during Easter Seals’ annual convention in Washington, D.C., granting $1 million to expand programs across the country that measurably improve …Read More » »

Don’t miss the Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism town hall

Posted by Patricia Wright on November 3rd, 2009

You are invited! Easter Seals is proud to be part of Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism (AFAA), a national consortium seeking to create meaningful futures for adults with autism. On November 13, Americans in 15 cities …Read More » »

Maurice celebrates autism services in Wisconsin

Posted by Bob Glowacki on October 29th, 2009

I am writing to give a huge thanks and “shout out” to our good friend Maurice Snell. Before I left for Capitol Hill Day and the Easter Seals National Convention last week, Maurice came to Milwaukee to share his story with …Read More » »

A special interest in weaving

Posted by Beth Finke on October 26th, 2009

This month Patricia Wright, Easter Seals National Director of Autism Services, wrote two posts about careers for adults who have autism. The first one was about an IT firm that goes out of its way to hire individuals with autism who have a special interest in internet technology. The second post was about a business professor with autism …Read More » »

Dr. Lars Perner’s personal perspective on “special interests”

Posted by Patricia Wright on October 16th, 2009

In my blog post yestrday, I talked about a Danish entrepreneur who used a great business strategy. He found an area of special interest, and employs people with autism who have that special interest.

I warned against assuming people with autism all have the same special interest. A good example: Lars Perner.

Dr. Perner is an assistant professor of clinical …Read More » »

Putting “special interests” to work

Posted by Patricia Wright on October 15th, 2009

A story in Wired Magazine explains how the news of his son’s autism diagnosis inspired Danish entrepreneur Thorkil Sonne to start Specialisterne (Danish for “Specialists”), an I.T. firm that hires mostly people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

One characteristic we often hear about people with autism is an intense interest in a particular subject. Colloquially in the field …Read More » »

“The Story” on Disability Employment Awareness Month

Posted by Beth Finke on October 13th, 2009

It’s Disability Employment Awareness Month, and An NPR show called The Story contacted me last week to record an interview. If you’ve never heard The Story, here’s a description of the show from their Web site:

At a time when “celebrity rules” and the only “ordinary” people we see are faces in the crowd, The Story reminds listeners that their …Read More » »

Temple Grandin: A Breath of Fresh Air

Posted by Beth Finke on September 3rd, 2009

Imagine my happy surprise to switch on the radio Tuesday morning and hear Terry Gross interviewing Temple Grandin on NPR’s Fresh Air. Turns out the show was a re-broadcast. It’s “Animal Week” on Fresh Air, and their January 5, 2009 interview with Grandin was one of their best animal-related stories this year, so they decided to air it …Read More » »

Sen. Durbin’s speech on hiring workers with autism and other disabilities

Posted by Beth Finke on August 27th, 2009

On World Autism Day this year (April 2), Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), introduced a bill that would increase vocational opportunities for people on the autism spectrum. The bill, called the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act, would fund programs to test new ways to provide vocational …Read More » »