autism and employment

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Should I Disclose My Autism to a Prospective Employer?

Autism and employment

Autism and employment

IF YOU HAVE AUTISM spectrum disorder, should you disclose that fact when you’re interviewing for a job? If you’ve been hired without sharing your spectrum disorder with your boss, should you tell him or her about it?

For people with ASD, whether to disclose their diagnosis is a complex and deeply personal question, says Leslie Long, vice president of adult services at Autism Speaks, a research and advocacy organization that focuses on autism across the spectrum and throughout the life span of people with ASD and their families. “Disclosure is a very individualized decision,” Long says. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from discriminating against people with ASD. It requires employers with 15 or more workers to provide a reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability.

Though the law is clear, and some firms recruit people on the autism spectrum, there’s no guarantee a prospective employer or a work supervisor will welcome someone with ASD. Long has spoken to people with ASD who have disclosed their spectrum disorder to a boss or a prospective employer. Some had good experiences, in which their boss or potential manager was supportive and, when needed, provided reasonable accommodations called for by the ADA. Other people with ASD have told her they felt stigmatized after disclosing their spectrum disorder. “I don’t think people (with ASD) should disclose unless they need to,” Long says.

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Long Island company specializes in hiring workers with autism

Autism and employment

Autism and employment

Seven years ago, a woman started a company so her son with autism could work for himself — now, she employs more than 20 young adults on the autism spectrum.

When Stella Spanakos’ husband died suddenly in 2010, she was left as the sole parent for their child Nicholas, who has autism.

“We always talked about our son’s future. It was very uncertain,” Spanakos said.

Spanakos sold her husband’s business in the Garment District of Manhattan and piloted a screen printing business in 2011.

She thought it was a job Nicholas could do. It started in a barn behind her house in Plandome Manor.

Now Spectrum Designs does more than $2 million in annual sales, works out of a 7,400-square foot facility in Port Washington and employs 21 young adults with autism — the majority of its workforce.

“If I could give every person with a disability a job. I would,” Spanakos said.

The company does custom screen printing, embroidery and digital printing for businesses locally and all over the country. Several supervisors monitor the employees.

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The Advantages of Autistic Employees

The Advantages of Autistic Employees

The Advantages of Autistic Employees

As many of you know one of our passions is getting more autistic people into the workplace. Check out a previous article on the subject of autism and employment here.

So it is great that we can share this brilliant article in The Atlantic by Olga Khazan entitled “The Advantages of Autistic Employees”

She writes “A consulting firm recruits people on the spectrum for their focus and problem-solving skills, but some adjustments are required.
Fourteen of the employees at EY, the consulting firm formerly known as Ernst & Young, probably wouldn’t have made it past a standard job interview.

“They don’t look at you in the eye, and in a traditional interview you would say, this is not a good candidate,” explained EY director Hiren Shukla, during an interview at the Aspen Ideas Festival.

That’s because those 14 have the high-functioning form of autism known as Asperger’s syndrome, which is characterized by difficulties with social interaction.

Shukla leads EY’s neurodiversity program, a small—at least for now—initiative by the firm to recruit and hire people on the spectrum to work on data-heavy tasks like process improvement and cybersecurity. Instead of checking for a firm handshake and can-do smile during an hourlong meeting, EY takes these job candidates through a two-week process that combines virtual interaction and an in-house “superweek” of team building and skills assessment. During that week, EY tries to acclimate the individuals to the office environment. Those who “pass” get job offers.”

You can read the rest of the article here.