Autism @ Work - Orange County
Interested in approaching your employer, but don't know how!
Let us help! Grit & Flow along with our partner, The Spectrum Works, are here to get you started!
We are ready to get going! What do I do?
There are two resources that can help you begin your journey.
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Grit & Flow, Tiffany@GritandFlow.com
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The Spectrum Works, Jessica@TheSpectrumWorks.org
Both resources will meet with you for free and help you begin your journey.
I would like to approach my employer, but where do I start?
There are many easy ways to approach your employer. Here are a few suggestions.
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Set aside some time to talk about what you learned tonight and how you would like to explore autism at work in your organization.
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Highlight the free resources available to navigate your organization through the process.
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Offer to set up a free session to learn what autism looks like at work and how it can benefit your organization.
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If there is an Employee Resource Group for autism/disabilities, or a Diversity & Inclusion team, they may be your best allies.
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Offer to organize a lunch and learn on autism and neurodiversity in the workplace.
We only have a few employees. What difference can I make?
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Each new job created changes life and positively impacts the stigma surrounding individuals with autism.
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There are many incentive programs that fit well with smaller organizations and provide support resources and potentially initial compensation to the autistic individual.
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Many individuals will prefer working for a smaller company. It is more personal, and they find more security in the smaller number of managers and co-workers.
Sounds great, but we just don’t have the right culture.
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A culture of inclusion can benefit all employees and it doesn’t have to be a huge effort. Inclusion is often best built starting with small teams.
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Initial steps to increase inclusion are:
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Lunch & Learns about Autism in the workplace
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Sensitize programs such as inviting young adults into your workplace for a tour
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Summer interns
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Getting involved in a charity event supporting autism
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Strong steps:
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Set-up initial conversations with your manager or HR about the importance and benefits of employing this population.
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Invite Grit & Flow or The Spectrum Works to discuss the discovery of where a hiring effort may be feasible and most strategic.
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I would love to, but what if I can’t support the employee(s)? We already have so much to manage.
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You don’t have to do this alone. We have often seen employees gladly and eagerly volunteer in companies to support autism at work programs
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In addition, there are many competent agencies in Orange County that can support you and the employee to provide a productive and rewarding experience.
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Our teams (instead of "An employee support'"?) will assist you with training the employee and ensure that he or she is headed in the right direction.
This sounds great, but I don’t think there would be a budget for a program like this.
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Desire, but no budget… No Problem!
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There are incentives that provide an employer of reference
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The accommodations an individual need is not always costly
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Paid Internship Program ($10,400) https://www.gritandflow.com/paid-internship-program
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Tax Incentives for hiring persons with disabilities
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Federal employment goals (7%) for companies with federal contracts (Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act)