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Ever since he got his first computer game at the age of five, Jacob Rodriguez knew he wanted to work in the gaming industry. But the prospect seemed less likely as the years went by and he grew older. Jacob, an autistic, enrolled in a local college but couldn’t make it more than the first few days. The social environment scared him off, says Jacob, adding that he was just too nervous.
Today, three years later, Jacob is performing well as a junior programmer in a gaming company. His first game is already available on android and iOS and Jacob believes he has a future in the industry. He attributes his success to a non-government institute that hones the skills of people with autism. Jacob says that it was the right kind of environment for him. The institute gave him a career.
There are several such institutes in the US that act as a link between a school and a company. Here, young autistic adults are trained in software development. Many have already graduated to full-time jobs in designing, conceptualizing and coding programs. These non-government organizations train an estimated 1.5 million Americans to demonstrate their talents in the technological field. Companies have now opened up to hire people with autism as software testers and rely on a remote working model that can circumvent the need for a social environment which is often challenging for those on the spectrum. Some nonprofit organizations trains people with autism as interns and software testers, and then place them in full-time jobs. Many of these organizations were founded by people who have autistic persons in their family. In most cases, these persons showed impressive skills in handling computers. Honestly, it would have been a waste to ask these people to do mundane tasks, like carrying the grocery or helping in household chores. The nonprofit organizations vouch by their talent and their capabilities.
Many market research firms believe that a number of Silicon Valley companies are already staffed with plenty of undiagnosed people on the autism spectrum. However, a concentrated effort to hire such people has only begun recently. While there’s no hard data regarding how many people with autism are actually finding employment, estimates have revealed that less than 32 percent of young autistic adults work for a pay, while a staggering 64 percent don’t even attend college. People on the autism spectrum face a difficult time to hold on to conventional office jobs and often find themselves engaged in trivial roles that neither judge their intellect nor use their abilities. According to conservative estimates one in every 50 babies born in the US is now being diagnosed of autism. At this rate, employment crisis for people with autism in the country is likely to worsen.
Change seems to be happening at least in the tech industry. But that won’t be easy. Notwithstanding their skills, autistic people usually struggle to fit in a corporate work environment. It may also lead to stereotypical thoughts that tech is the only domain for people with autism. But it’s nonetheless encouraging for such people. Things may be finally looking up.
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