Building Better Futures for Adults with Autism

Under and unemployment for adults within the autism spectrum exceeds 85% of all work age and able adults.  Impacted by readiness skills, social engagement and ability to gain skills in their chosen field, these adults often remain isolated and out of public view and opportunity.

nonPareil is a post-secondary instructional program helping adults with autism progress toward their potential by integrating work readiness training with hands on technical instruction and social engagement opportunities. 

Education in the digital and technical arts, combined with the work readiness skills needed to engage in the social aspect of meaningful employment provides a leveling opportunity for adults with autism to find their own path to success.

Services for people with autism transitioning to adulthood are almost non-existent. Adults within the Autism community are under or unemployed at a rate of 85-90%. Comparatively, the Bureau of Labor Statistics cites overall U.S. unemployment at 3.5%. For those who did work, 80% worked part-time and earned an average of $9.11 per hour. 

nonPareil seeks to lower this extraordinarily high rate unemployed talented adults with autism by building skills that enable student Crew to work on teams, thrive in a professional environment, work on outsource projects and more. The unique model of nonPareil provides adults with autism the time and space to find their passion, grow their potential, and discover their purpose.

Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disability and its prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate. In 1970, one in 2,000 people were diagnosed with autism in the United States. Today it is estimated to be one in 59. Over the next decade, an estimated 500,000 teens will enter adulthood and age out of school based autism services. More than half of young adults with autism remain unemployed and unenrolled in higher education in the two years after high school. This is a lower rate than that of young adults in the disability categories, including learning disabilities, intellectual disability, or speech-language impairment.

Research from the Center for Disease Control demonstrates that job activities that encourage independence reduce autism symptoms and increase daily living skills. Through small class settings of six, and with one on one tutoring available, nonPareil student Crew learn industry standard technology and collaboration skills. These skills are nurtured and developed across the technical, soft skill and community pillars of the program. The educational environment is implemented in a real-world workplace environment where students learn not only the technical skills needed to be successful, they also learn the core workplace readiness and professional skills needed to succeed. nonPareil assists this under served group of people and prepares them for increased independence and fulfilling lives. Some pursue employment within nonPareil as instructors, some transition to college, supported or independent employment. nonPareil has served over 600 adults with autism toward this path of success, and have a continual interest from young adults with autism graduating high school, those who do not succeed socially in college and those seeking to gain meaningful employment in the technology field.

To ensure those who attend nonPareil’s programming receive the most relevant training, we utilize many different forms of technology including:

Adobe Creative Cloud – to create 2D digital assets, graphic art, 2D animation
Blender - to create 3D digital assets for an interactive environment
Visual Studio – C# and Xamarin – to develop desktop and mobile applications
Unreal 4 – create interactive environments for games and architectural visualization
Agile and Scrum – create standard project management methodologies and time management

nonPareil Institute's approach is innovative by teaching through hands-on methods in small class groups and working with individuals needs rather than expecting them to change. nonPareil's approach is unique for two key reasons. One - Providing support for Adults with Autism on their own path to a meaningful life. Many programs stop supporting those with autism after high school, leaving the adult with no support. This leaves the individual at home, isolated and without hope. nonPareil's approach provides community and provides hope. Two - integrate much needed instruction on social, work readiness and personal interaction into technology classes. This provides the education and skills needed to achieve the goal of meaningful employment while supporting the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace - and in life. nonPareil removes "tests", which typically increase stress and poor responses in individuals with autism. Instead, project path's are created, managing key performance indicators (KPI's), identifying and working with stakeholders, and managing expectations along with due dates to complete the project within the established timelines.

nonPareil is designed to provide much needed core and technical skills training allowing neuro-diverse adults to have robust and meaningful futures.  We have built the model for 10 years in Plano, Texas and duplicated the model in three additional cities (Houston, Austin, and Orlando) utilizing the experience and support gained in each city to continue extending technical training to adults with autism. We are also in the process of expanding our program to other cities throughout the U. S. as the need currently far outweighs our capacity to serve in today’s environment. 

nonPareil is currently serving 210 adults with autism and anticipates serving 260 in 2020. The number we expect to serve in five years depends on the growth of our new and existing locations. 

nonPareil Institute’s goal in the community is to provide services for all adults on the autism spectrum seeking post-secondary instruction. Through our 24-36-month curriculum our student Crew gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to gain meaningful employment or to further their education at a traditional college or university. 

This accelerated plan requires the development of curriculum, technology to support training, and personnel to successfully deliver the program. We are also in the process of expanding our program to other cities throughout the U. S. as the need currently far outweighs our capacity to serve in today’s environment. Our vision includes additional locations in cities including Fort Worth, Connecticut, Chicago, and San Francisco, when possible, and have over 50 cities who have requested a nonPareil training center.

nonPareil's services are being requested throughout the country. We have successful programs in multiple cities are are looking to scale significantly. The largest barrier we face to further our expansion is acquiring general and capital funding.

As we continue to scale, nonPareil has promoted and hired within our development team so that we are able to focus on larger asks from donors and foundations and now have a dedicated staff member to focus on researching and applying for grants. 

N/A

Full Time - 15

Part Time - 14

Contractors - 13

Volunteers - 20

Each staff member that works for nonPareil has an affinity for the individuals we serve, adults with autism. There is a range from parents of individuals on the spectrum to those on the spectrum themselves. Through weekly meetings and staff trainings, our instructors are kept up to date with best practices for teaching our neurodiverse population.

Dell, Google, Q2, Sail-point, ONCOR

nonPareil, founded in 2010, is a non-profit, post-secondary instructional program helping adults with autism progress toward their potential by integrating work readiness training with hands on technical instruction and social engagement opportunities. We provide person-centered training using a research-based framework and evidence-based instruction designed specifically for adults with autism that helps them achieve favorable outcomes. Our one-on-one and small group training allows students to progress through our program at a pace that accommodates their individual and unique learning needs.

Our technical training focuses on using state-of-the-art digital and interactive technologies: digital art, 2D animation, 3D for interactive environments, graphic art, programming for both desktop and mobile applications, design tools to create interactive environments for mobile apps, games and architectural visualization and visual scripting. We also offer technical training that allows students to obtain their Google IT Certification. To mirror the IT industry, we teach our students standard project management methodologies such as Agile and Scrum.

In addition to our technical training, we provide additional work-readiness training in ‘soft skill’ disciplines. These include: adaptive functioning, workplace readiness, teamwork, communications and functional life skills. We also provide social engagement activities both at nonPareil and outside in the community which further strengthens these ‘soft skills’.

Over 69% of students who have attended nonPareil have moved on to meaningful employment, or for some, to attend college. Through our new outsourcing initiative, PowerSourcing: Putting Autism to Work, nonPareil will be able to provide additional employment opportunities for our students upon completion of their training.

nonPareil Institute receives funding in a variety of ways. Tuition, individual donations, special events, grants and fees for outsourced services are all part of the funding structure. These funds have sustained our organization since nonPareil Institute's founding in 2010.

Many adults with autism spectrum disorder have an interest in digital technology, arts, learning vocational skills and being a part of a community. We will continue to harness and refine their interests that will lead to achieving their goals.

nonPareil Institute has and established and proven educational program for adults with autism with a successful track record. We are financially stable and looking to expand our program so we may positively affect the lives of more adults on the autism spectrum. nonPareil’s partnership with ServiceNow would not only reduce our funding barrier, but we would benefit from mentorship and media opportunities.

nonPareil is looking for corporate human resource partners and mentors and technical based recruiters. Additional partnership potential includes support independent housing options.

nonPareil is looking for partners in the SME space such as Microsoft, Google (engaged), Dell (engaged) and others.