Saturday, September 26, 2009

Column: College autism program expands hope for jobs


Michael Bernick writes in the San Francisco Chronicle that California State University’s East Bay campus in Hayward is launching a college experiment for people with autism, beginning this fall.

Bernick says it is hoped that the program will help people with autism find productive work. Presently, an estimated 70 percent of adults with autism in California are unemployed.

Imagine Raymond Babbitt of “Rain Man” in college. Might it not be a better alternative for him, and much less expensive for society, than institutionalization or the SSI/SSDI government system? Might he even bring unusual skills that can enrich university life for others?

Michael Bernick, former director of the California Employment Development Department, is the chair of the advisory board of the CSU East Bay autism center.

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