The June 21 meeting, ‘Real Work for Real Pay’ was a tremendous success, attracting 150 participants, for a full day of intense and positive discussions focused on improving the employment prospects of adults with ASD. Participants came from across B.C. There were over 20 adults with ASD who brought great personal insight to the day, as well as educators, job coaches, representatives of many agencies, clinicians, researchers and a number of parents.

Sponsors of the event include UBC’s CIRCA & Adult Autism Clinic, UVIC’s CARTE, SFU’s Autism and Developmental Disorders Lab, POPARD, Douglas College’s Disability and Community Studies Program and ACT. Many thanks to all presenters, facilitators and note takers. Particular appreciation to the Pacific Autism Family Centre and the Century Plaza Hotel who donated the venue and catering.

As participants want to capture the knowledge generated, ACT has taken responsibility for gathering the information on the ACT Online Learning Community. The hope is to use this as the start of a province-wide initiative to meet the challenges of employment for adults with ASD.  If you are interested in being kept informed of developments, join the ‘Real Work for Real Pay’ online group by emailing [email protected] with ‘Real Work for Real Pay’ in the subject line.