MERISTEM Students Work to Break Down Barriers and Change the Way Businesses Hire and Work with Employees on the Autism Spectrum

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Finding and retaining employment is a big challenge for young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and employers who want to work with them. Unemployment and underemployment for young adults with ASD is estimated at 90 percent nationwide, according to a 2013 report in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

A dozen students from MERISTEM — a program near Sacramento that prepares young adults on the spectrum for independent living and gainful employment — are working to change that. MERISTEM's student-led Transformational Advocacy Project (TAP) is a key part of the Breaking Barriers in Employment for Adults with Autism Pilot Program which was the result of legislation authored by Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio, established by California State Senate Bill 866 and signed by the Governor on June 27, 2018.  The California Workforce Development Board (CWDB), the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA), and the California Workforce Association (CWA) will work with TAP to develop an innovative training manual and a series of "free" employer trainings to address the high unemployment and underemployment rate of young adults with ASD.

"Our TAP students have been preparing for an opportunity like this for years," said TAP program director Valerie Baadh Garret. "At MERISTEM they have learned self-advocacy, leadership and presentation skills. In fact, they were the 'lobbyists' for the bill, presenting their case in front of the Labor and Employment Assembly Committee."

The TAP group meets weekly and collaborates with peers from Los Angeles County to discuss and address the employment challenges of people on the autism spectrum, the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States.

"Proper education, outreach and training of employers can help them take action to recruit, hire, promote and retain individuals with autism," said California Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), the bill's author.

The TAP group has been gathering data, interviewing employers and other young adults with ASD.  TAP members recently traveled to Los Angeles to meet with prominent businesses and agencies, including Autism Works Now! and auticon.

MERISTEM is a day and residential program that uses experiential learning, a unique method for preparing young people for independent living. All coursework and activities incorporate hands-on, real-world experiences. Learn more at meristem.pro.

Media contact:
Valerie Baadh Garrett, 916-963-1000 or [email protected]

SOURCE MERISTEM

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http://www.meristem.pro