Ready for Takeoff

by Jordan LeGras

As parents to a 13-year-old autistic son, Jason San Souci (late-diagnosed autistic) and his wife, Nicole Corder, have been actively involved in the neurodiverse community for years. As their son, Blake, entered his teen years, the pair started thinking about his future career opportunities. Recognizing their son’s unique talents, they saw a perfect opportunity: Why not open the door for other neurodiverse teens and young adults to learn skills applicable to drone operation, a rapidly expanding career path? Thus was born Neurodiversity Works, a nonprofit committed to preparing neurodivergent students between the ages of 15 and 25 to soar in meaningful careers, with programs consisting of digital drone workshops, drone summer camps, a registered apprenticeship program, online learning and virtual job immersions.

“They (neurodiverse individuals) have dreams, hopes, aspirations; they have skills. They may not fit with your corporate culture because they’re different, but that doesn’t make them lesser. That just makes them different,” San Souci says. He now serves as the organization’s program director. “We’re just trying to put [diversity and inclusion] in action— that’s our biggest thing. We’re not just doing this because we think it’s a really good thing to do. We’re doing this because it’s necessary. We are changing the narrative, and we want employers to think differently about people who think differently.”

Neurodiversity Works partners with organizations such as Trimble and Kiewit to empower neurodiverse students and guide them toward meaningful careers in drone operations and analytics. The organization has an established partnership with 12 industry mentors as well as a registered apprenticeship program with the U.S. Department of Labor and Colorado State Apprenticeship Agency.

“Our program involves a fully built-out online learning-management system that sets up some foundational knowledge. After that learning is completed, we do paid job shadowing, workshops, a summer camp and mentorship,” San Souci says. Neurodiversity Works’ three-day summer camp has proven to be a massive success amongst students, who participate in hands-on activities during workshops with volunteers and instructors in a low-pressure, sensory-friendly environment.

Forty percent of neurodivergent adults, including those with ADHD, dyslexia and autism, face unemployment, and 85% of autistic college graduates find themselves without employment. “We want employers to understand that embracing these differences has its return on investment. You just have to understand and be sensitive to their individual, unique needs,” Jason says.

New perspectives can breed innovative solutions that many industries currently need. “The folks on that neurodiverse spectrum have extra capabilities, or they’re able to focus on things that you know neurotypical folks wouldn’t focus on,” says Ian Warner, director of industry workforce development and innovation at Trimble. “We’ve got a separate organization called the Trimble Foundation, where we sponsor some of those [neurodiverse] organizations through the foundation and then use that as recruitment either within Trimble or to help take some of our technology solutions and get the training out to the public.”

Many programs do not offer to help neurodiverse individuals navigate their career options until they are over 21. “A lot of these individuals, from whenever they were diagnosed until 21, they’re gone. It’s a cliff, and they’ve disappeared. They have nowhere to go, and they don’t know what to do. The suicide rate amongst this population is exponentially higher than their neurotypical peers,” Jason says. “We want to try to plug these holes with a program that gives them opportunities that aren’t just about flying drones; it’s about finding themselves, finding their purpose, finding a network, finding a mentor. We see that as ridiculously important.”

Jordan LeGras is the digital editor for Construction Executive. Before working at CE, she was a social media manager for two fashion and lifestyle/beauty magazines. She earned her B.A. in communications University of Maryland, College Park, with a focus in public relations and a minor in classical mythology.