Not everyone with Moebius Syndrome is autistic. Far from it. But autism can sometimes be associated with Moebius Syndrome. Now: maybe too often, many people out there think that someone with autism, as he or she grows up, can never have a responsible job, can never be trusted with real responsibility, will have a hard time ever accomplishing anything. Sound familiar? So many of you parents of children with Moebius Syndrome have been told the same thing by others concerning your child.
And yet so often, this is proven to be wrong. And the same thing is true for children with autism. They CAN achieve. And they do. See this story, for example--a young man has autism. But now he runs his own business:
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When Matt Cottle asked his boss to let him work in the supermarket's
bakery, she told him he'd never do anything more than collect grocery
carts.
After six years of bagging groceries and pushing carts, Cottle wanted more. He had already learned how to do some baking.
Cottle
is autistic. And today he's an entrepreneur, the owner of Stuttering
King Bakery, turning out batches of cookies, brownies and scones for
cafes and businesses and groups that need catering.
"I
was like, OK, I am destined to do something greater than that," Cottle
says in the kitchen of his family's Scottsdale, Arizona, home, where he
spends hours each day filling orders. He generates $1,200 monthly. He
named the business for Britain's King George VI, whose struggles to
speak were the subject of the film "The King's Speech."
Cottle
is one of a few known small business owners with autism, a brain
disorder that affects a person's ability to comprehend, communicate and
interact socially. There are varying degrees of autism, but even
autistic people with the greatest capabilities can find it impossible to
get a job because they take longer to read or process information, or
because they struggle to hold conversations. One in 68 people have some
form of autism, according to government figures.
There
is a growing movement to help autistic adults find jobs, but for Cottle
and his family, the answer was a business of his own.
Cottle
had taken training to do search and rescue operations. And he tried
working in a bakery. Both times, he encountered people who didn't
understand him, and who ended up yelling at and insulting him, his
mother, Peg Cottle, says. He wanted to enroll in a culinary school, but
an administrator gently told him and his parents it wouldn't work out.
Four years ago, the Southwest Autism Research and Research Center, or
SAARC, connected Cottle with a pastry chef who mentored him. In August
2012, he unexpectedly got an order from a cafe operated by Phoenix-based
SAARC. At that point, Cottle told his parents he was starting his own
baking business.
"I'm happy as an angel," he says.
CHANGING ATTITUDES
Many
autistic people can run businesses if they're given the chance to
discover something they like and develop skills around their interests,
says Temple Grandin, one of the best-known advocates for people with
autism.
"If you get them exposed to something, they can get a career," says Grandin, author of "The Autistic Brain."
Grandin,
who has autism, didn't speak until she was four years old. In her
teens, she was bullied by classmates who made fun of the way she spoke —
she repeated the same phrases over and over.
"They called me 'tape recorder.'" she says.
In
her teens, Grandin was exposed to horses at a boarding school and
cattle on her aunt's ranch, and she began working with farm animals. She
eventually created a business designing equipment for handling
livestock.
People with the most severe autism aren't
able to work because their disabilities limit their ability to learn.
But it's only in the last two decades that society has come to realize
that many people with disabilities including autism can work, says Paul
Pizzutello, principal of Reach Academy, a West Harrison, New York,
school whose students include some who are autistic.
"With
many people with autism, it's not their intellect that a problem, it's
their ability to engage with their environment and manage social
contacts," he says.
INSPIRED BY A KING
When
Cottle's parents tried to help him get a job, they explained to
prospective bosses that because he is autistic, he needs more time to
understand instructions. The companies either didn't want to take the
time to learn how to work with him or they assumed Cottle might do or
say inappropriate things. He grew frustrated by the unsuccessful
attempts to find work.
"He was at a brick wall before he started his bakery," Peg Cottle says.
Soon
after starting, Cottle and his mother attended entrepreneurship
training classes offered by Seed Spot, an organization that helps
socially responsible businesses.
"He's legitimate.
The product he produces is the real deal. His disability doesn't even
come into play as far as I'm concerned," says Chris Norcross, general
manager of building company and Stuttering King customer Mortenson
Construction. He orders as many as 300 cookies at a time.
The
Cottles recently moved to a home with a larger kitchen, one that will
allow Cottle to bake more and increase his revenue. He wants to expand.
"I hope I can set up shop and hopefully start interning and mentoring other people with autism," he says.
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Autistic
owners don't run their companies by themselves. Support from family
members to interact with the public, take orders and handle marketing
and billing is vital.
Peg Cottle takes orders and
does marketing for Stuttering King Bakery. Cottle is able to speak, but
talking on the phone can be difficult. If a customer gets chatty and
strays from the basics of placing an order, it can be hard for Cottle to
understand.
Vinnie Ireland has little language
ability but owns landscaping company Weed Whacking Weasel in Chapel
Hill, North Carolina. The autistic man does leaf-blowing,
hedge-trimming, mulching and other tasks, and works with an assistant
trained to help the autistic. His mother, Lori Ireland, handles
marketing and billing. The business has between six and 10 residential
and commercial customers, depending on the time of year.
"When we tell him it's time to go to work, he jumps up," Lori Ireland says.
Autistic
business owners are much like other entrepreneurs who concentrate on
creating a product or delivering a service, and delegate the
administrative work to others, says Vinnie's father, Gregg Ireland, a
mutual fund portfolio manager and co-founder of Extraordinary Ventures, a
group that finds opportunities for autistic people.
"In my business, I wouldn't be marketing. I wouldn't be able to keep the books," Gregg Ireland says.
Ireland's
parents wanted to find a way to keep their son occupied and to build
his self-esteem. They got the idea for Weed Whacking Weasel because he
enjoyed doing gardening.
"A small business is so flexible and adaptable, and it's just suitable to solving our problems," Gregg Ireland says.
OVERCOMING AUTISM AND MORE
Joe
Steffy is autistic and has Down syndrome, a congenital condition that
affects a person's ability to understand and learn. He's unable to
speak. But he has owned and run Poppin Joe's Gourmet Kettle Korn in
Kansas City, Kansas, since 2005.
Steffy loves to
work, his father Ray says. His family didn't believe teachers and
counselors who said when he was in his teens that he'd need to live in a
group home, that he wouldn't be able to work because he has a short
attention span and can't focus. Instead, his parents looked for
something he could do. They found the answer in a popcorn company.
About
two-thirds of the company's revenue comes from events such as fairs and
festivals. Customers also include convenience stores and corporations
that give popcorn bags to employees.
"There isn't
any job he can't do," Ray Steffy says of his son. He pops, seasons and
bags the corn. And he supervises five part-time workers, all of whom he
helps interview before they're hired.
Joe Steffy responded in writing to questions asked by a reporter. He said he loves his work and the independence it gives him.
"I
have choices. I pay for things I love (skiing, swimming, flying)," he
said. Steffy loves taking flights, especially to visit his sister in
Milwaukee, his father says.
But Steffy also feels
the stress that any business owner feels at times. When asked what he
finds difficult about being a boss, he responded, "the intensity of
producing (a) product when busy."
He oversees the
entire process of popping the corn, paying close attention to details,
says Christy Svoboda, one of Steffy's employees.
"He wants the bags looking presentable, like they come from a big manufacturer," Svoboda says.
PLAYING TO HIS STRENGTHS
Although
Christopher Tidmarsh graduated from college with a degree in languages,
environmental science and chemistry, he was in the same limbo as other
autistic people. A post-college internship didn't work out because
co-workers didn't make the accommodations he needed, like labeling
drawers where he could find supplies, or communicating with him through
emails rather than by talking. Job interviews were nearly impossible
because he needs time to process the questions and come up with answers.
"People in the traditional work place don't know how to work with people with autism like me," Tidmarsh says.
The
solution was starting Green Bridge Growers, a company that grows
vegetables in water, a process called aquaponics. Tidmarsh has been
building the business in South Bend, Indiana, with his mother, Janice
Pilarski, the last two years. They came up with the idea for the
business because it would allow him to use the knowledge he developed in
college and internships with organic farmers.
While
the company is still in its early stages, Tidmarsh is already thinking
ahead to expand it beyond its current one greenhouse.
"Having my own business makes me feel as though I've accomplished something," he says.
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