Creating Inspiring Futures for People with Autism
Creating hope beyond the school years
About Shifting Mindsets
Founded in 2016 after more than 10 years working with her son who has autism, the Founder, Michelle has worked with pre-schools, schools, sporting facilities and holiday programs on integration strategies. With an extensive corporate and HR background in a variety of sectors including technology, Michelle is acutely aware of creating the right culture and environments for all people to be successful.
We work with individuals and organisations to create strategies for work readiness and creating meaningful work opportunities for those with neurodiversity.
The issues
About 1 in 150 people have Autism in Australia. The transition from school to adult life is one of the most difficult to traverse for young people with Autism. Unlike the Autism diagnosis and early intervention, there is little funding, guidance and support available for adults with autism post the school years. Fewer than 1 in 6 people with Autism are in fulltime employment. The current participation rate for people with Autism in the workforce is 42%. This compares with 53% participation rate for people with disabilities and 83% for people without disabilities.
Studies have shown that due to the unique social-communicative profile associated with the Autism Spectrum, adults on the Autism Spectrum may have difficulty transitioning to the workforce and reluctant to engage with new people and experiences.
We know people on the Autism Spectrum have an amazing set of skills and can bring an enormous amount of value to the workplace more than half have an above average IQ and usually have a strong skill in their area of passion (special interest).
Neurodiversity is also a categorization of identity that is often overlooked and misunderstood in the workplace. From the interview processes to decision making, most of our workplace environments are built around things like eye contact, noisy group work, and generally overstimulating settings–in other words, they are built for more “neurotypical” people. Over 60% of employers said they worry about getting support for an autistic employee wrong, and an equal number say they do not know where to go for advice.
Our approach and services
At Shifting Mindsets we work with both individuals and organisations to provide support to those with neurodiversity to find career opportunities as well as provide practical solutions to organisations to create cultures that are truly inclusive and will set individuals up for success.
We have a clear and exciting vision to change the game in terms of employment of those with Autism through three main programs:
Gecko Hangouts| focusing on work readiness, life readiness and social readiness. Targeted at teens and young adults.
Our ASpire program which is a world first accreditation for “Inclusion Friendly” employers, with an emphasis on reasonable adjustments for those with Autism.
Inclusion consulting | working with organisations to prepare for ASpire accreditation.