Career Development:

Pre-Employment - Discovery: Identifying strengths, interests, and needs; exploring by shadowing or volunteering - Skill-Building: Assessing key skills needed; working to develop those skills. - Securing Employment: job searching, applying, and interviews. Employment Stabilization - On-the-job support: coaching and skill building; peer support during onboarding; problem-solving workplace challenges - Self-advocacy support: identifying and advocating for meaningful accommodations; employer education Career Advancement - Refining skills through coaching - Completing required education or certification

We support you one-on-one through all levels of career development. Your Employment Specialist will help you build skills in our calm, private training spaces and strengthen skills in the workplace. We can also accompany you during interviews, onboarding, training, and any self-advocacy meetings. The skills we can assist with are as wide-ranging as the careers you can pursue. They are covered by these categories: - Universal Soft Job Skills - Interpersonal Workplace Skills - Resumé Building  - Interviewing - Job Duties/Workplace Training - Self-Advocacy Skills

Your team has a diverse history of supporting employment across many industries and is ready to explore any career path with you. Here’s a sample of our current local connections... - Medical billing, coding, and chart analysis for regional health network - Detailed materials production for local small business - Meal-prep and serving for seniors in assisted living - Order processing for large and small businesses: Homegoods, Lowe's, Sweetwater, and more - Retail customer interaction ranging from stuffed-animal sewer to grocery courtesy clerk - Office coordination and administrative assistance - Kitchen work at both fine and casual restaurants - Elementary education, teaching assistant, paraprofessional, and before- and after-school care - Greeters at recreational and retail settings, including YMCA.

Our Career Development Services are open to anyone facing employment barriers or seeking to improve their success in the workplace. You do not need any diagnosis or disability. All of Partners in Autism's services are available to individuals with and without autism. A diagnosis may open doors to different funding sources, but our services are available to anyone. For a helpful first step to a potential diagnosis or for a deeper understanding of your potential neurodiversity, see our Pre-Screening Assessments under our Services tab.

Locally unique to Partners in Autism, our specially designed, on-site environments provide calm, private settings where you can develop new skills comfortably. With all the necessary resources and supportive step-by-step guides on hand, our training spaces allow you to develop skills for both daily living and your career ... in social and sensory comfort ... all at your own pace. Our staff are ready to work with you in our kitchen, grocery, apartment/hotel room, laundry room, office, tool shop, mailroom, library, and more!

As a family and as individuals, we know what it's like to encounter barriers to employment. We see the value in the skills our clients bring to the workplace. We respect our clients as people with unique interests, skills, and grit. Unlike many other employment service providers, we don't make contracts with outside companies. So we're never steered by their quotas or deadlines. We don’t push clients into roles that don't appeal to them. Instead, we help you explore your own interests, navigate the job market, and develop the interpersonal, workplace, and self-advocacy skills that support your success in a career that is meaningful to you. We will never try to slot you into a role that doesn't appeal to you. Instead, we are here to help you investigate your interests, navigate the job market, and develop the interpersonal, workplace, and self-advocacy skills will support your success in a career that is meaningful to you.

You are part of the team: - Your Employment Specialist works with you to determine your interests and needs. - You receive skill training and provide continual feedback on interests and preferences. - Your Employment Specialist is by your side when you want them to be: including interviews, follow-ups, onboarding, training, and self-advocacy meetings - Our Director of Behavior Quality Assurance, also a masters-level Behavior Consultant, collaborates with your Employment Specialist to consult on ethical practices and techniques as needed. Even after you accept a job offer, we stay by your side as your peer and advocate to ensure successful stabilization. Our employment specialists attend orientation with you to ensure clear communication between your new employer and you, support your self-advocacy, and help complete paperwork. They go through training with you as a peer so that they can be familiar with your job requirements and can identify where accommodations may be needed.​ These can be as simple as having extra break time or being allowed to listen to one earbud while working or can involve more extensive modifications. Further, they help educate your new employer about the value of these accommodations.

We provide the best neurodivergent-affirming, dignity-focused support training to our staff, all of it vetted or written by our Director of Behavior Quality Assurance with direct oversight by us, the owners. This equips Partners in Autism staff with tools to approach each interaction with compassionate understanding. ​Furthermore, Partners in Autism maintains the highest accreditation for Employment Supports and Job Development from CARF International. ​What Does It Mean? CARF accreditation is a public seal of trust and commitment to quality based on internationally accepted standards shaped by those receiving services. Achieving this accreditation demonstrates Partners in Autism's commitment to exceptional, personalized care.

Your Employment Specialist can provide training to your new employer or coworkers so that the same compassionate understanding you received with us extends throughout your employment experience. We also consult with local employers who want to make their workplace more inclusive, whether or not they employ one of our current clients. Some of our employer resources are publicly available. Check out our Resources tab for more info.

New or changing employment can impact the state or federal benefits you receive.  Our Life Skills Instructor has a rich history helping individuals navigate employment changes. They can provide you with resources specific to your situation. Let your Employment Specialist know about your questions or contact us for a consultation.

Partners in Autism is a respected Vocational Rehabilitation services provider and Indiana Medicaid Waiver services provider. Career Development Services can be funded by either of these sources or by private-pay. We can help you navigate Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) or Waiver funding. Email us at EmploymentServices@PartnersinAutism.com For more information on Indiana's VR program, visit Division of Disability and Rehabilitation Services (DDRS) at https://www.in.gov/fssa/ddars/brs/vocational-rehabilitation-employment/ Find out if you qualify for VR in Allen, DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, or Whitley County: ​Vocational Rehabilitation Services 201 E Rudisill Blvd, Suite 300 Fort Wayne, IN 46806-1756 phone (260) 424-1595 toll free  (877) 715-5292 (V/VRS/711) toll free fax  (855) 450-3571 Not eligible for VR? Partners in Autism also accepts private pay clients.