Exceptional Minds are Creating Jobs and Higher Self Esteem for People with Autism

The other day I was following a tutorial on how to remove a background on a digital image.  I followed the instructions at the Graphic Fairy on how to remove the background.  Now these were easy for me to follow but getting the small pieces closer and closer to the image was very tedious.  I wrote about that process in this post. 

Whiles I was erasing the background I kept on thinking...how do people in the graphic business, like my husband Kurt, do this stuff all the time.  I admire his tenacity and totally understand it's a big deal if I ask him to create something like this for me.

There are so many jobs that are perfect for people who are patient and can handle working on intricate details.  In the Los Angeles Times, in Parade Magazine, I was reading an article about Exceptional Minds.  Exceptional Minds (EM) is a visual effects animation studio a nonprofit vocational training program for young adults with autism  People with ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorders have a developmental disability characterized by repetitive behaviors and difficulty with social interaction that affect 1 in 68 American Children.  People with Autism are able to work on precision work, the less creative work that is necessary to get a film ready for the big screen.  This would also be perfect for other things like Graphic Design and other Visual and Pattern type of jobs.  When I mention Graphic Design, I'm NOT saying that all of them have Autism, just that some of the tedious stuff would be gladly done by a trained Autistic person.

The last paragraph from Parade Magazine says:

People with autism are totally underestimated,” says Exceptional Minds co-founder Yudi Bennett. More than 80 percent of people with disabilities, including autism, are un- or underemployed, and isolated with limited opportunities doing unskilled, low-paying work that leaves many suffering from chronic depression. “What we’re doing here is groundbreaking,” she says. “We’re creating a model to apply to other vocations, from manufacturing and retail to music, to train and nurture young autistic adults into America’s workforce.” It’s a win for students and the industry.

Here is a movie promoting Exceptional Minds.  When I read the article and saw this movie I cried and cried happy tears.  It's so wonderful to seeing people with "Exceptional Minds" being appreciated and rewarded with well paid jobs.  I just shared the article on Facebook and told a few friends in messages about article.  Right away I got a response saying that a friend of her's son attends the academy at Exceptional Minds.  You can learn more about Exceptional Minds here.

In addition to Exceptional Minds, Walgreens, Freddie Mac and Microsoft have hired autistic adults.  Autism Speaks is working with Spectrum Careers to team up employers with those on the Autism Spectrum.  I see this as a movement in the right direction especially the increase of those diagnosed with Autism.