Aspergian Pride
May 27
Ben Brock, who teaches at the Footprints Preschool and Family Resource Center in Camarillo, California, decided to pursue a child development degree after he received an Asperger diagnosis. His parents founded the preschool, and his father also is autistic. The preschool originally was a day care center; the family then decided to develop an inclusive [...] [...more]
Posted: under Career Paths.
Ben Brock, who teaches at the Footprints Preschool and Family Resource Center in Camarillo, California, decided to pursue a child development degree after he received an Asperger diagnosis. His parents founded the preschool, and his father also is autistic. The preschool originally was a day care center; the family then decided to develop an inclusive program designed to serve both autistic and non-autistic children.
Four of the five members of the Brock family are involved in running the school. As reported by the Ventura County Star, the Brock family has become passionate about inclusion because of their experiences with being misunderstood by others.
Apr 06
Joe Steffy of Louisburg, Kansas, owns a thriving small business selling popcorn. As reported by Yahoo News, he has five part-time employees, and his sales have grown from $16,000 in 2005 to $50,000 in 2008. He has autism and Down syndrome and uses an augmentative speech device to communicate. His parents, who have been very [...] [...more]
Posted: under Career Paths.
Joe Steffy of Louisburg, Kansas, owns a thriving small business selling popcorn. As reported by Yahoo News, he has five part-time employees, and his sales have grown from $16,000 in 2005 to $50,000 in 2008.
He has autism and Down syndrome and uses an augmentative speech device to communicate. His parents, who have been very supportive of his efforts, helped him to get the business started by preparing a business plan and applications for grants.
Dec 24
Andrew Pegg of Frostburg, Maryland, who is 22 years old, recently received the annual Personal Achievement Award from the Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services and the Maryland Rehabilitation Association. He owns a small business, Andilla Designs & Graphics, which personalizes gifts and advertising products. He is a non-speaking autistic who communicates in writing. As reported [...] [...more]
Posted: under Career Paths.
Andrew Pegg of Frostburg, Maryland, who is 22 years old, recently received the annual Personal Achievement Award from the Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services and the Maryland Rehabilitation Association. He owns a small business, Andilla Designs & Graphics, which personalizes gifts and advertising products.
He is a non-speaking autistic who communicates in writing. As reported by the Cumberland Times-News, he is very active in disability advocacy and often brings a slide presentation on disability issues to events.
Oct 12
Sammy Xerri, an 11-year-old Aspergian boy who plans to become a firefighter, built a working miniature fire truck in his garage with parts from Home Depot. He takes it on neighborhood calls to put out small grass fires. His local fire department in Pickering, Ontario, has encouraged his interest by providing stickers for his truck [...] [...more]
Posted: under Career Paths.
Sammy Xerri, an 11-year-old Aspergian boy who plans to become a firefighter, built a working miniature fire truck in his garage with parts from Home Depot. He takes it on neighborhood calls to put out small grass fires. His local fire department in Pickering, Ontario, has encouraged his interest by providing stickers for his truck and inviting him to visit open house events.
He recently attended a junior firefighters’ camp and received an award for his exceptional knowledge of fire fighting and fire safety. His mother says that “a fire manual is his bedtime reading.”
Sep 22
Autistic entrepreneur Nathan Young has created a company called Compassionate Integrations, which employs autistic workers and others with developmental disabilities in the production of scented candles. He obtained federal grant money to start the company while he was living on social security disability benefits, and he reports that the business is expanding to nearly 20 [...] [...more]
Posted: under Career Paths.
Autistic entrepreneur Nathan Young has created a company called Compassionate Integrations, which employs autistic workers and others with developmental disabilities in the production of scented candles. He obtained federal grant money to start the company while he was living on social security disability benefits, and he reports that the business is expanding to nearly 20 resellers of the candles.
The candles, which are made from soybean wax, are not yet available for sale online. However, Internet ordering capability through PayPal is expected to become available at the Fortuna Candles website in the near future.
Dec 24
When Aspergian college student Heather Kuzmich auditioned for the America’s Next Top Model reality show, although she sometimes lacked confidence in her ability to succeed, she persevered because she saw her appearance on the show as an opportunity to demonstrate that she wouldn’t let herself be limited by stereotypes and arbitrary barriers. As Heather told [...] [...more]
Posted: under Career Paths.
When Aspergian college student Heather Kuzmich auditioned for the America’s Next Top Model reality show, although she sometimes lacked confidence in her ability to succeed, she persevered because she saw her appearance on the show as an opportunity to demonstrate that she wouldn’t let herself be limited by stereotypes and arbitrary barriers. As Heather told reporters afterward:
“I was hoping to be a role model to girls who really weren’t told they were beautiful at first and do have a little bit more problems than the girls who do have confidence and really do want to do modeling.”
While on the show, Heather received a great deal of public attention and became a fan favorite. She was praised for taking some of the best photos, and she hopes to have more opportunities in modeling. She now feels more confident about herself and believes that she succeeded in inspiring others to pursue their goals, as well.
Dec 07
Canadian researcher Michelle Dawson, who studies autism at the University of Montreal and is herself autistic, was recently interviewed regarding her efforts to improve ethical standards for autism-related science and advocacy. Her studies focus on cognitive science and neuroscience. She is an author of several papers published in professional journals. On the importance of accuracy [...] [...more]
Posted: under Career Paths, Speaking Out.
Canadian researcher Michelle Dawson, who studies autism at the University of Montreal and is herself autistic, was recently interviewed regarding her efforts to improve ethical standards for autism-related science and advocacy. Her studies focus on cognitive science and neuroscience. She is an author of several papers published in professional journals. On the importance of accuracy in autism research, she says:
“The point is not for you to be right and for your side to be right; the point is to try to do the best you can to understand autism and to make it possible for autistics to have good outcomes. To do that you need accurate information.
“Accurate information is always good for autistic people. It might not be good for advocates, it might not be good for lawyers, it might not be good for lobby groups, it might not be good for various vested interests, it might not even be good for researchers, it might not be good for funding bodies, but it is always good for autistic people.”
Let’s hope more people will pay attention to these words of wisdom!