Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) affect 1 out of 59 individuals, cost $137 billion per year in the U.S., and result in a staggering unemployment rate for adults who have the cognitive skills to contribute substantially to the technology workforce.  Aiming to make strides on these issues both at the individual and societal levels, this “Neurodiversity in Tech” program has several components:

• A 2-month summer internship program for neurodiverse young adults
• Development of tech tools, such as a VR mock job interview app, to help young adults in their transition to the workforce
• Research on the history and ethics of pre-employment screening tools and their impact on the neurodiverse
• Evaluation and further development of the internship model