NonPareil is an institute in Texas, that is connecting young people with autism to jobs in technology and video game production.
Founded by Gary Moore and Dan Salec, two parents of children with autism, the institute currently employs three of its former students full-time, and employs nine others part-time, according to KERA News.
According to the article, the symptoms of autism can sometimes make the college environment hard to thrive in, because it requires social interaction with peers and professors. The article reports that many young people with autism don’t make it to college or drop out, and many struggle to find jobs.
But Moore and Salec knew that their children could excel in one area: tech. So they founded the NonPareil institute — a training program and a software company — which offers classes on web and game development as well as a chance to interact with professional developers. Young people attending are developing mobile apps and successfully selling them on iTunes. According to the article, people with autism and other cognitive disabilities are a huge untapped labor source.
Read more at KERA News.