Help support programs for New Jersey young adults with autism

First comes Black Friday, then Cyber Monday, then Giving Tuesday. A New Jersey facility for young adults on the Autism Spectrum wants you to think of them this Giving Tuesday.

The nonprofit Spectrum Tech Trade School, Village, and Training Center "The Future of Autism Education, Job Training, and Community" has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money so that they can apply to be a private school

According to the GoFundMe page:

90% of autistic adults are either unemployed or underemployed and 50% of 25-year-olds have never held a paying job. This shows a failing system which starts with an education that is based on behavior and compliance instead of student-centered and career focused. Why should college or nothing be the only choices for autistic students? You can make a difference and help change the narrative.

As the father of a 21-year-old son with autism, I know how the assistance programs dry up once they leave high school. The Spectrum Tech, Trade School, Village, and Training Center seeks to address these shortcomings by training autistic young adults along with giving them therapeutic interventions; they seek to do this with:

targeted training, experiential learning, and intensive support therapies, seeding and leading system change in autism education, job training, and career development, providing the framework of sustainable opportunities centered around our trade schools, agricultural innovation centers, and inclusive neuro-divergent affirming villages.

The goal is to give them the skills to not only realize their own potential but to become productive members of the workforce. They work with each young adult to build a program around their strengths and put them on a career path, whether that’s with a trade in agriculture, culinary services, or many more options.

The Spectrum Tech Trade School, Village, and Training Center is a worthy recipient of your generosity this Giving Tuesday.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.