New Job Opportunities for Neurodiverse Adults

Check out the Spring 2020 School Year Group calendar!

Read the detailed description of Quest's Program Details!

At Quest Camp we do our best to prepare kids for real life situations and equip them with skills they need to be successful. However, as people become adults and get older the services become fewer and the nature of their support changes. As of January, 2019 the unemployment rate for adults with autism is 80% according to Neil Barnett^[1]. It encourages me to say that companies are now making more accommodations for people with social and emotional difficulties. This allows companies to hire talented employees as well as expanding the job opportunities for neurodiverse people.

Many companies, especially software and technology companies, are realizing the value neurodiverse people can bring to the table that is often hidden behind poor social skills or anxiety. Interviewing for a new job can be a stressful and anxiety provoking event for anyone, let alone someone who already is experiencing social and emotional difficulties. Autism can exacerbate these typical nervous symptoms and can make the candidate appear to not be qualified or capable of doing the job. Oliver Wilcox, a 28-year-old with ADHD, social anxiety and a speech and language disorder, applied to over 100 jobs before finally being accepted at a company who only hires neurodiverse applicants. He shares about his experience, “I was told that I was not a culture fit, or appeared very nervous. They turned me down not because of my skills, but because of things I can’t change about myself.”¹

Many major companies including Microsoft, SAP, Willis Towers Watson and more began this initiative with altering their hiring process to make it more accessible to neurodiverse candidates. In 2012, international software company SAP, created a month-long screening and workshop to replace the typical interview that serves as both an interview as well as training. Here they focus on teamwork, communication, and workplace etiquette; skills that can transfer over to many different jobs and workplace environments. In 2014, Microsoft introduced a one-week hiring process that also serves as a training. Candidates are given more hands-on, task based challenges to determine their skills rather than having to articulate their skill sets in an interview. Using this process Microsoft has a 100% retention rate of neurodiverse employees. This less stressful interviewing environment has proven effective in finding qualified and talented employees who would otherwise not be given the opportunities to demonstrate how gifted they are.^[2] These companies understand that while interviewing may be a large part in what is stopping neurodiverse people from being successful in the workplace, the challenges do not stop there. SAP created a mentor program for new hirees that pairs them with a long-time successful employee. This helps employees to navigate their way through the new challenges as they come up and have a positive role model to go to and learn from along the way.

While there have been some organizations out there for years that hire neurodiverse people, these have majorly been low level and minimum wage jobs. It genuinely excites me to see that leading companies in the world of business are realizing the unique and valuable skills of this untapped market and making it accessible for them. As parents, family or friends of people with Autism and other social and emotional disorders we can’t help but worry about them as they enter adulthood and the workforce. These companies are increasing opportunities and are proof of an evolving business community where our kids can grow up and truly reach their full potential!

^[1] Young, R. (2019, January 3). More Companies See ‘Neurodiverse’ Job Candidates As Untapped Talent Pool. Retrieved from https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/01/03/neurodiversity-hiring-autism-dyslexia.

^[2]More Companies Hiring Employees with Autism. (2017, August 3). Retrieved from https://www.diverseabilitymagazine.com/2017/07/companies-hiring-employees-autism/.

UPCOMING PROGRAMMING

School Year Programming

We are running an eight-week evening therapeutic groups are designed to provide therapy by specifically targeting individualized goals for our campers. Group will be 75 minutes through telesession and include time for campers to have conversations, interact in positive prosocial ways through game play, and build skills through structured lessons. Group and home goals will be part of the group, with bonuses being awarded through Target gift cards.

Spring Group Starts March 30!

Summer Programming

Quest’s intensive summer program offers 7 weeks of programming (6 weeks of day camp and 1 week of residential). The summer program includes individualized behavior plans, group therapy, occupational therapy, a social thinking curriculum, mindfulness activities, yoga, soccer, games in the park, and field trips (beach, Boomers, Rockin’ Jump, Discovery Science Center, bowling, etc.) to create a fun and engaging, therapeutic camp experience for children.

Weekly parent meetings are also included. The summer program has been found across multiple studies to significantly reduce hyperactivity, impulsivity, aggression, and inattention, while improving peer relations, family relations, athletic competency, behavioral control and self-esteem. Quest has also been found to improve social awareness, social cognition, social communication, and social problems.

Summer Camp Dates are:
June 22, 2020 through August 6, 2020

New Job Opportunities for Neurodiverse Adults

Check out the Spring 2020 School Year Group calendar!

Read the detailed description of Quest's Program Details!