Empowering Autistic Students in the Workplace Program

EMPOWERING AUTISTIC STUDENTS IN THE WORKPLACE

9:00 am – 12:30 pm Thursday, October 4, 2012 The George Washington University Marvin Center 307 800 21st Street, NW

Session Title: Preparing Autistic Students for the World of Work
Presenter: Ari Ne’Eman, President and co-founder of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Session Description: This presentation will highlight key barriers to successful participation in the workforce for Autistic young adults and a variety of strategies for successful integration in the workforce. Particular emphasis will be placed on approaches which target Autistic students in higher education settings. Topics to be covered include barriers of social architecture, identifying and fostering needed prerequisite skills, developing effective accommodation strategies, making effective use of job carving and customized employment tools and building meaningful collaborations with the employer community. The presenter will highlight ASAN's work in developing an internship program for recent Autistic college graduates within Freddie Mac, a leading housing finance company, as a case study.

Session Title: Supporting Personal Preparedness for Employment
Presenter: Sajjad Khan, Psychotherapist, Neuroscience, Inc.

Session Description: In this session, Dr. Khan will first discuss how the clinical diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is determined, followed by an overview of the typical challenges with adaptive skills (communication, organization, flexible thinking) and the processes to help improve functioning (social skills training, family support, employer support, resilience training, disability support services). He will emphasize the need for ongoing coaching and career development.

Closing Panel Discussion: Student and Employer Perspectives

Continental Breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m. Please RSVP to: Christy Willis at cwillis@gwu.edu If you require an accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Disability Support Services in advance at 202-994-8250 or at dss@gwu.edu