The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism was established in 1998 by former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie and his wife, Laurie, in honor of their son, Doug, Jr. who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. Today, he is 23 and, like many of his peers, faced with new challenges that come with young adulthood, from post-secondary education and finding a job to living as independently as possible.
“As we watched Dougie transition into adulthood along with thousands of other kids on the spectrum who have aged out of the educational system, we knew there was a huge drop off in supports and services for adults with autism,” says Lisa Borges, the Foundation’s executive director. “While there are a number of challenges adults with autism face, we decided to focus our efforts on finding appropriate employment opportunities so that adults with autism can achieve independence. We had also heard many stories of adults with autism who had secured a job but were not successful in keeping it. As a result, we were looking for an employment model that was innovative in meeting the needs and interests of the employee and one that would employ the full spectrum.”
Flutie Spectrum Enterprises (FSE) was the result—a nonprofit social enterprise that creates businesses to employ adults with autism. “We are running it as a business. It is not a job placement program,” says Brittany Collins, FSE’s managing director. “We are balancing profits with FSE’s mission to employ adults with autism. The measure of our success will be the number of employment hours we provide to our employees with autism.”
FSE started its business operations at the beginning of 2015, with mentoring and support fromExtraordinary Ventures, a similar social enterprise in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that has created several small businesses, which are managed by recent college graduates with an entrepreneurial bent. Along with three other similar ventures, Flutie Spectrum Enterprises and Extraordinary formed an informal support network. “We were drawn to Extraordinary Ventures because of its principles and because they were very open to partnering with us and happy to share their experiences. After seeing it first hand, I knew it would be a great fit for us,” Borges explains.
Collins herself is the model manager for FSE, having recently graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a minor in social entrepreneurship and business (and a major in international affairs). She has a younger brother with high-functioning autism so she is well acquainted with the community and knowledgeable about autism.
As Collins readied the business for work, she found herself faced with a chicken-or-egg situation: hire employees or get a micro-business up and running? As it turned out, she found both—Justin, her first employee, and FSE’s first business opportunity.
Justin’s mom works for a local autism organization and Collins asked her if Justin was interested in a job. Soon thereafter, Collins was presented with work—bagging and tagging t-shirts for a local promotional items supplier. Justin and a few volunteers, including Collins, went to work to get the job done.
When Collins met the head of a local insurance agency who needed confidential documents shredded, she turned to her connections again, which led her to Joey. “We found him through Triangle Inc.’s job training program. He has a great resume.” In fact, he is a wizard with computer programs, which will come in handy as the head of the insurance agency looks forward to tapping into these skills to improve the office’s use of various computer programs, including Excel.
Joey is the type of adult with autism who might otherwise struggle to find employment because of difficulties with communication and social interaction, making it hard to get past the initial interview. Today, thanks to the job training and job coach he has received through Triangle, Inc. coupled with the opportunity FSE provided, he is now happily employed. And Collins will be able to put a new employee to work on the agency’s ongoing need for document shredding once Joey climbs to the next rung of the job ladder.
The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism was established in 1998 by former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie and his wife, Laurie, in honor of their son, Doug, Jr. who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. Today, he is 23 and, like many of his peers, faced with new challenges that come with young adulthood, from post-secondary education and finding a job to living as independently as possible.
“As we watched Dougie transition into adulthood along with thousands of other kids on the spectrum who have aged out of the educational system, we knew there was a huge drop off in supports and services for adults with autism,” says Lisa Borges, the Foundation’s executive director. “While there are a number of challenges adults with autism face, we decided to focus our efforts on finding appropriate employment opportunities so that adults with autism can achieve independence. We had also heard many stories of adults with autism who had secured a job but were not successful in keeping it. As a result, we were looking for an employment model that was innovative in meeting the needs and interests of the employee and one that would employ the full spectrum.”
Flutie Spectrum Enterprises (FSE) was the result—a nonprofit social enterprise that creates businesses to employ adults with autism. “We are running it as a business. It is not a job placement program,” says Brittany Collins, FSE’s managing director. “We are balancing profits with FSE’s mission to employ adults with autism. The measure of our success will be the number of employment hours we provide to our employees with autism.”
FSE started its business operations at the beginning of 2015, with mentoring and support fromExtraordinary Ventures, a similar social enterprise in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that has created several small businesses, which are managed by recent college graduates with an entrepreneurial bent. Along with three other similar ventures, Flutie Spectrum Enterprises and Extraordinary formed an informal support network. “We were drawn to Extraordinary Ventures because of its principles and because they were very open to partnering with us and happy to share their experiences. After seeing it first hand, I knew it would be a great fit for us,” Borges explains.
Collins herself is the model manager for FSE, having recently graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a minor in social entrepreneurship and business (and a major in international affairs). She has a younger brother with high-functioning autism so she is well acquainted with the community and knowledgeable about autism.
As Collins readied the business for work, she found herself faced with a chicken-or-egg situation: hire employees or get a micro-business up and running? As it turned out, she found both—Justin, her first employee, and FSE’s first business opportunity.
Justin’s mom works for a local autism organization and Collins asked her if Justin was interested in a job. Soon thereafter, Collins was presented with work—bagging and tagging t-shirts for a local promotional items supplier. Justin and a few volunteers, including Collins, went to work to get the job done.
When Collins met the head of a local insurance agency who needed confidential documents shredded, she turned to her connections again, which led her to Joey. “We found him through Triangle Inc.’s job training program. He has a great resume.” In fact, he is a wizard with computer programs, which will come in handy as the head of the insurance agency looks forward to tapping into these skills to improve the office’s use of various computer programs, including Excel.
Joey is the type of adult with autism who might otherwise struggle to find employment because of difficulties with communication and social interaction, making it hard to get past the initial interview. Today, thanks to the job training and job coach he has received through Triangle, Inc. coupled with the opportunity FSE provided, he is now happily employed. And Collins will be able to put a new employee to work on the agency’s ongoing need for document shredding once Joey climbs to the next rung of the job ladder.
Joey’s story is the reason why FSE and Extraordinary Ventures and similar social enterprises exist and need to succeed. Many young people with autism are willing to work, and many have paid and unpaid experience that shows they have talent and expertise businesses need. But companies aren’t always willing to give them a chance or these individuals aren’t able to sell themselves to an employer. “We will take that chance if they want to work, and we will make sure they have the right supports and accommodations in place that they need to succeed,” Collins says.
Now, Collins works with local agencies that provide employment training and support for people with autism. “Agencies can help us identify potential employees who want a job and who are eager to get a foot in the door during FSE’s early stages when we might not be able to give them a lot of hours or a lot of consistency.” FSE pays at least the minimum wage, which is currently $9/hour in Massachusetts, and pays more for a person’s experience and expertise.
For parents whose children with autism are nearing the age when a job is the next step, Collins advises them to do what she saw Joey’s and Justin’s parents do: provide their young adult children with as many opportunities to get work experience as possible, whether they are paid or volunteer opportunities. “Keep them busy with what interests them and with activities they will be vested in. That’s what we want to do: build businesses based on our employees’ interests and skills. Justin’s mom cried when I sent her the form for direct deposit, because she never thought he would have a paid job. Justin dove right in to the first job we had him work on, but even in the four short months since then, we have seen tremendous progress in his productivity, skills, and excitement for work. Have high expectations.”
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