Young adults with autism don’t just need a job; they need the right job.

The neurological disorder makes it difficult for people with autism to verbalize thoughts, manage their anxiety, cope with changes to routine and participate in unstructured social situations.

So everyday activities, including employment, are challenging.

With the right preparation and on-the-job support, young people with Asperger’s, a high-functioning form of autism, can excel while greatly benefiting their employer, says Carol Hacker of JVS Toronto, which specializes in helping individuals who have trouble finding work.

“Can you live with the fact that they may not be the life of the party and may need a bit more time to get the routine? Because once they do, they will give you new ideas and be very reliable employees,” she says.

Instead of offering the usual resume writing and internet job searches, JVS ‘built’ the perfect job for Malcolm Fairweather, a 27-year-old competitive swimmer who has Asperger syndrome and bipolar disorder.

The program offers both summer and year-long job training for young adults with Asperger’s, and involves workshops where participants practise role-playing and other interactive games that teach them how to handle different social situations.

“Because they are in a group of others with Asperger’s, they are more comfortable and more open to trying different approaches,” Hacker says.

Paid employment gives participants real-life on-the-job training and something to put on their resume, while wage subsidies give the employer a chance to try out a prospective employee at little cost.

The program, entering its second year, is funded by the federal Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities, which is providing $179,000 this year. The 48-week program will help 16 people, aged 18 to 30.

Of the 16 who participated in the program last year, 11 are still employed.

JVS built Fairweather’s job around his strengths. The trim, athletic 6-footer loves to walk, so the JVS employment coach suggested Fairweather consider work as a courier.

The coach found a local company, 2Hippos, that delivers flyers and JVS provided an eight-week wage subsidy to train Fairweather on the job last summer.

The company was so happy with Fairweather’s work, it hired him in September on a permanent, part-time basis. He earns $11 an hour and works about 15 hours a week — the maximum he can fit into his 10-hour weekly swim-team training and regular medical appointments.

Three to five days a week, the company drops off flyers at Fairweather’s East York home and emails a route within easy access to public transit.

Since the company provides photographic proof to clients of each delivery, Fairweather’s job also involves taking time-stamped digital photos of every flyer he leaves at a doorstep.

It requires dexterity and diligence. Fairweather loves the challenge.

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“It’s a great job,” he grins. “I can do it on my own time at my own pace. It really works for me.”

Michael Smythe, founder and CEO of 2Hippos, is delighted with his new employee.

“Malcolm is conscientious and he’s a very good communicator: I know exactly when he starts and finishes,” he says. “He pays great attention to detail.

“When his time permits and as his life evolves, we are committed to giving him the opportunities to move into full-time work, perhaps in other areas of the company so he will be able to support himself and build a pension.”

When designing employment programs for people with autism, the most promising approaches are those that also prepare the employer, says David Nicholas, a University of Calgary psychology professor. He is conducting a two-year national study of vocational programs for people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), with funding from Autism Speaks in the United States.

In one workplace he reviewed, the employee with autism transformed the ethos of the business.

“People shifted from saying: ‘How will I deal with this difference?’ to ‘Isn’t it good that we are part of this?’ ” Nicholas says.

“I think it brought a new identity to the organization. People saw it as a good place to work.”

The dream for parents, and professionals working in the autism field, is for all people with ASD to have opportunities and support to explore a vocation, employment or other meaningful activity.

Vocation provides identity and self-esteem, things we all need.

Says Nicholas: “We haven’t thought enough about those quality-of-life impacts, let alone the positive economic impacts of including folks with autism.”