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ASPIEd
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

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Joined: 6 Apr 2007
Age: 72
Gender: Male
Posts: 51

27 Sep 2007, 6:23 pm

I'm a recently diagnosed 50+ Aspie in the USA who's ready to leave a job I can't stand. I'm thinking about getting some help from the folks at the Hawkins Institute in Toronto:

http://www.hawkinsinstitute.com/

According to their web site, they "offer a service that helps people with Asperger Syndrome (AS) and more able autism acquire vocational skills and find meaningful work."

Anybody know anything about them? Direct experience or anecdotal knowledge is fine, especially if it involves a client from the US.



Mw99
Veteran
Veteran

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Joined: 12 Sep 2007
Age: 124
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,088

29 Sep 2007, 4:41 pm

Suitable Jobs for our Clients at Host Employers
Data entry – alpha and numeric
Filing, faxing, sorting, photocopying – ‘Person Friday’
Mailings, labeling, stuffing envelopes, creating mailing lists
Cataloguing and archiving
Assembly, manufacturing, packaging
Organizing: files, databases, storage rooms
Errands, deliveries within walking distance or transit distance
Most tasks that are systematic, routine or repetitive in nature



That feels like a slap in the face. Didn't they say something about "meaningful" employment?



ASPIEd
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

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Joined: 6 Apr 2007
Age: 72
Gender: Male
Posts: 51

29 Sep 2007, 6:38 pm

Hmmm, that list of jobs is on the site's Host Employers page (http://www.hawkinsinstitute.com/employers.htm), which I hadn't looked at before.

The founder of the Hawkins Institute is Gail Hawkins, who also wrote the book How to Find Work That Works for People with Asperger Syndrome; on page 241 of the book, there's a long list of occupations suitable for Aspies, including these:

accountant
computer systems analyst
engineer
laboratory technician
mechanic
pharmacist
technical support specialist
veterinary technician

So maybe the jobs shown on the web site are meant to be short-term, entry-level jobs that would be suitable for the Institute's "Foundation Building" program (http://www.hawkinsinstitute.com/services.htm), which seems to be intended for people without a solid work history.