Mark your calendars for the Stanford Neurodiversity Summit, emphasizing employment, to be held at Stanford University March 14. Attendance is free and registration will be required. Details will be posted here as they become available.
This month the usual first-Saturday Job Club will be combined with the AASCEND General meeting January 18, when veteran and erstwhile conference speaker Thomas Iland will be discussing his experiences from numerous jobs, his changes in career over the course of his journey to permanent, gainful employment, and what he does today to help people find their niche and become productive and happy members of society.
Thomas Iland (pronounced like “island”) was diagnosed with autism at 13 years old. Thomas left his career as a certified public accountant in 2015 to become an author, keynote speaker, diversity & inclusion consultant, and certified human potential coach.
Thomas is the author of the award-winning, best-selling book, “Come to Life! Your Guide to Self-Discovery” and recently became the only Toastmasters International Accredited Speaker with autism in the world.
Thomas has spoken at the United Nations twice in the past year, once on World Autism Awareness Day in April, to share his knowledge and firsthand experience about assistive technology and successful law enforcement interactions for people on the autism spectrum…and again in December for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, where he discussed practicing diversity and inclusion in employment.
You can also see him on the TEDx stage in his talk titled, “How To Come To Life.”
Thomas currently lives in Santa Clarita, California, with his dog, Bridget, and, having run two marathons, is currently training to run his first half-Ironman triathlon.
As always, attendees on the spectrum will offer their experience and perspectives throughout the program.
Who: Adults on the autism spectrum, families, mentors and professionals all welcome. For more information, please contact: info@aascend.org
When: Sat Jan 18, 10am – noon
Where: The Arc of SF 1500 Howard St. @ 11th St. SF, CA 94103 map
Parking is usually available in the garage at 255 12th Street, with a reasonable flat rate for Saturdays. There is also metered street parking for $2.25/hr.