News and Knowledge

In January, OAR welcomed its first 2021 Hire Autism navigator cohort with a plan to hold additional training sessions quarterly throughout the year. The sign-up for the next navigator training in April was so strong and enthusiastic that the Hire Autism team decided to host an impromptu session last month rather than keep this new group of motivated volunteers waiting.

Hire Autism is excited to welcome Kaitlin Anderson, Liz Cancio, VijayaLakshmi Chagarlamudi, Sanat Farhan, Cecelia Harris, and Melissa Parker. They come from a range of professional backgrounds, including human resources, speech therapy, behavior analysis, optometry, and IT.

“I am truly elated to welcome this group of volunteers to the program,” says Amanda Rioux, Hire Autism manager. “This is a sign that the word about this program and the opportunity to support autistic jobseekers is beginning to resonate. It’s very encouraging! I hope that this trend will continue throughout 2021 because our navigators are an integral part of our program. We truly couldn’t do this work without them.”

Each navigator cohort participates in virtual training specifically designed to help them support autistic job seekers with resume and cover letter writing as well as interviewing. Over the course of four weeks, navigators work one-on-one with job seekers using web-based platforms, such as Google Meet and Google Docs.

Since late 2019, Hire Autism has trained a total of 33 navigators who have helped more than 150 job seekers. Given the current job market, OAR needs more volunteers to help our job seekers with their job search. Please consider joining our next navigator training, which is scheduled to kick off in mid-to-late April. Applications are due on March 26.