Car Wash Offers Employment to Autistic Young Adults

[Washmee]

Did anybody else see this segment on the NBC national news last night? I have hired a few autistic employees in the past and most of them were very good employees.

(Link)
Car Wash Offers Employment to Autistic Young Adults

 

[mac]

I saw it on last night's evening news. Not only is this operator doing something real nice, but we got some good press for a change.

 

[loewem]

I've been meaning to revisit this post and since April is Autism Awareness Month this seems like a good time. I've been following this company and they seem to be doing very well. They now have two locations and have employed 92 people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I wish every car wash operator the best, but I'm especially pulling for this company to be successful.

My wife and I have two daughters who are 17 and 19. Our younger daughter was diagnosed with ASD at the age of 10. For quite a while my wife and I thought that our daughter would be dependent on us forever. Up until a year ago I didn't imagine my daughter becoming independent, much less going to college. A nagging thought in my mind was how would my wife and I provide for our daughter when our time was up. Fortunately, when our daughter was diagnosed with ASD my wife and I were able to find helpful interventions in the form of capable health care professionals and schools/teachers. About a year ago the interventions started to show signs that they were working and now my worry is how to help two daughters pay for college. I wish that I could say that every parent of a child with ASD will someday have as much hope as I now have and that every child with ASD will have an opportunity like the one that my daughter has in front of her. Sadly, I can't say this for many parents/children with ASD.

What is Autism Awareness? I'm still trying to figure that out. Many doctors are not "Aware" of Autism. If they were, it would not have taken 10 years for my daughter to be diagnosed with ASD. More importantly at this point in time, there would not be children with ASD today that have yet to be diagnosed with it or even screened for it. The most widely accepted screening tool to indicate if a child should be assessed for ASD is the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT). A free version of the M-CHAT is available online at https://www.m-chat.org/. Every child needs to be screened for ASD early in life and often during their development. If you have young children, please make sure that their pediatrician screens them for ASD at every well child visit. If you have grand children, please consider asking your children if the pediatrician screens your grand child for ASD. Currently, it is estimated that 1 in 68 children (1 in 42 boys) in the U.S. are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and between 3.5 and 4 million people in the U.S. have ASD.

I would urge you to consider helping people with ASD by employing them when/if possible. I think that you will find it rewarding. Most of the time you only hear the challenging aspects of ASD. Some of the positive characteristics of many people with ASD are loyalty, honesty, a desire to please others, good at focusing on tasks, good observation skills (amazing really) and they follow the rules and have little tolerance for people who don't.

Hopefully, I have helped to increase your awareness of autism.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Mike

 

[Washmee]

I've had several autistic employees over the years. Once trained they became very reliable workers.

 

[mac]

Does anyone know the wash company in FL that does this? I seem to remember it's on the east coast somewhere.

 

[loewem]

http://risingtidecarwash.com/ is the url for their website. I've communicated with them via e-mail a few times and they are responsive. Not sure if it matters, but they worked with Sonny's to establish their wash procedures and train employees on the different responsibilities within the process.

I saw something interesting about investment opportunities http://rtinvest.strikingly.com/. "We're looking for partners to help us make Rising Tide Car Wash the first mainstream consumer brand that can prove how capable people with autism are."

I agree with Jon/Washmee. Take some time to train people with Autism and they can become reliable employees. I tried to start a hand wash service at my wash with the intent of employing people with Autism. It didn't work out, but I think it is doable. I just wasn't knowledgeable enough about the car wash business to make it work when I tried it. I will try again. Maybe not hand wash or even car wash, but if it is car wash I need more experience and knowledge.

There are many aspects of the car wash business that I think people with autism might excel at. A local high school has an "alternative course of study" program. Students work for local businesses to earn credit towards high school graduation. It is a pretty good program, but can and should be a lot better. Several of the students in this program have ASD. Students help out at my wash twice a week for a couple of hours emptying trash, washing down bays, wiping down vacs, etc. Two students have worked on the weekends for me and they have done a good job. One student graduated this past December and is now learning to weld via Job Corps http://www.jobcorps.gov/home.aspx. Another student took an eight week course on auto detailing at the local community college. He wants to start a mobile detailing business.

Sorry to ramble, but it in the end all young people need as much help and direction as they can get these days.