Celebrating Autism Acceptance Month
April is Autism Acceptance Month, a designation that dates back to the 1970s, when it began as Autism Awareness Month. The shift to “Acceptance” in 2021 reflects something meaningful: acceptance promotes real inclusion in education, community involvement, and employment. This April, I had the chance to see that inclusion in action across pre-employment training, supported employment, and competitive integrated employment settings.
A New Set of Tools from FDDC
The Florida Developmental Disabilities Council is developing a collection of tools to help individuals with IDD and their family members or caregivers assess the fit between an individual and a service, program, or provider agency. The collection covers residential settings, adult day training (ADT) programs, and employment supports. The residential tool is already posted on the FDDC website, while the ADT and employment tools are in final user-testing stages.
Employment Tools in Action: ARC Broward and the Posnack JCC
April 8–10, I participated in user testing of the Employment tool alongside individuals and families at ARC Broward’s main campus, their Work Bar, and the Posnack Jewish Community Center’s food truck, The Square Bowl.
The range of programming was impressive. Transition-aged students at ARC Broward’s School of Hire — primarily funded by Broward County Schools — were developing the skills they’ll need to enter the workforce. Adults at ARC Works, supported through Vocational Rehabilitation and other funding sources, were fully engaged in hands-on training. Two culinary programs stood out in particular: trainees and staff at the ARC Broward Culinary Institute were preparing food items for the café at Broward’s Museum of Discovery and Science, while the JCC’s food truck was staffed by employees with disabilities and their job coaches, serving meals to JCC participants and staff across multiple programs. With a well-trained team now in place, the food truck is expanding to community events throughout the area.
Alongside the user testing, FDDC’s contracted partner Mathematica filmed both the testing sessions and program sites to develop realistic training videos for the ADT and Employment tools.
Meaningful Days in ADT Programs
As the parent of an adult child in an ADT program, it was especially rewarding to observe participants engaged in a wide variety of purposeful activities — music, art, exercise, sensory experiences, and drama. Watching adults thrive in well-designed programs is a reminder of what good support looks like.
A Month Worth Celebrating
Autism Acceptance Month is an opportunity for all of us to recognize the progress being made toward greater inclusion — and to celebrate the individuals, families, and communities who make it possible every day.