HELPING ADULTS WITH AUTISM PERFORM AND EXCEL CORP

Aspiritech: Aspiritech is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit business that provides website software testing, quality assurance, data analysis, website design and development, cybersecurity and other information technology-related services to organizations and businesses in the competitive marketplace. As this work requires attention to detail and focus, Aspiritech was founded upon the premise that autistic adults are specifically suited for this kind of work. Accordingly, more than 90% of its current 100 employees, are on the autism spectrum. Such workers exhibit a significant aptitude for working alone, maintaining full concentration, and paying particular attention to detail. To sustain its growth and ability to offer suitable career employment to as many qualified autistic adults as possible, HAAPE is collaborating with Aspiritech to provide a comprehensive 6-week virtual academy that provides an online training program to introduce software testing and quality assurance to prospective candidates. Each training session is usually oversubscribed, with approximately 10 applicants for each available position. Upon completion of the program, about 90% of the graduates find employment with either Aspiritech or outside companies. Aspiritech also hopes to expand its virtual training sessions to include cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and accessibility testing and compliance. HAAPE provided seed funding ($25,000) for development of the 10-week Cybersecurity Academy for Autistic people. This development is completed, and a pilot cohort is underway.

Computerized Numeric Control (CNC): The "Uniquely Abled Project" (UAP) has created a program that focuses on training men and women with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to become CNC machine operators. CNC operators are currently in great demand over a broad range of industries, especially in manufacturing. Together with the UAP, HAAPE is working with several colleges and other teaching institutions to establish the HAAPE-Uniquely Abled Academy to train qualified ASD adults to operate this equipment. HAAPE has previously financed three CNC licenses and last year added a fourth at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. To date, nearly 100% of the graduates who have taken the CNC training course have received career employment opportunities from qualified, autism-friendly companies. The expansion of this program has hit some roadblocks due to difficulties in finding qualified instructors and establishing the appropriate training infrastructure. Accordingly, the opportunity for adding future licenses has necessarily been slowed.