By Dan E. Burns
Facebook rumors circulated that the café was “demonic,” but that didn’t stop an overflow crowd from enjoying “Give Autism A Chance” at family-friendly Spider House in the keep-it-weird city of Austin, Texas. Our teens fit right in at this funky eclectic coffee house. The goal was to demonstrate that young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders can contribute to the workforce and give back to society. And in this laid-back campus refuge, they did. Patrons only joked with him when my son, Ben, swiped a finger through the whipped cream on somebody’s waffle cake.
How did it go? Lainey Melnick writes, “Thank you all for a delightful event. My son, Daniel Freeman, had a wonderful time and is really hoping it leads to some new opportunities.” And maybe now he’ll get them. Jennifer Kaut, Autism Employment Specialist with Texas Rehabilitative Services (DARS), was there to give Ben and other job-seeking young adults a second look. “As an ASD mom,” she said, “my goal is to revolutionize the transition to jobs statewide.” READMORE
