People with autism can be a real asset to the workplace, but a lot must change if we are to support ASD students into the world of work, says Gerald Haigh

Several young people known to me, including one who is very close, went through school labelled with ASD (autism spectrum disorder).

For parents of such children, each transition stage in their schooling causes extreme concern. The move to secondary, for example, comes with the double whammy of coping with a timetable and a school bus, while, quite often, being bullied at the same time by children with problems of their own.

The concerns don’t stop at the end of school, though. It is more than possible that a 16-year-old will find a further education college course. Just how suitable it may turn out to be in the long run is something else, because the problem of school-leavers entering unsuitable two-year college courses goes beyond this immediate issue.

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