Ernakulam Autism Club all set to open doors of opportunities for youngsters with autism

The Ernakulam Autism Club in collaboration with few government and private organisations held a workshop for youngsters with autism in the city. Over 100 people participated in the event and they were trained in skill development and vocational training as well. The organisers plan to hold these workshops every weekend so that more youngsters under the autism spectrum can benefit.

For youngsters with autism, finding a job doesn’t come that easy. Though a lot of companies are now willing to hire them and are working on becoming inclusive, skills training and development becomes crucial. The Ernakulam Autism Club (EAC) is now all set to work towards creating job opportunities for youngsters under the spectrum and conducted a workshop for many youngsters who took part with their youth.

The sole aim of the event was to identify talents and skills of each child and develop it so that they can earn a living with it. Teenagers from the age of 12- 25 years took part in the event where they experimented with paper pen and bag making and other crafts. The event was done in collaboration with some leading IT companies and also the special employment exchange Ernakulam.

Biju Issac, Secretary, EAC says that the main aim of the event was to make youngsters with autism independent and provide them vocational training.

Most of the times, their skills go unnoticed because they do not have the right platform to showcase them. This is our first programme to bring out something like this and it was more like an experiment. Most of them cannot sit for long hours and hence we had a half day session. Whatever has been made by them will be sold as well-Biju Issac, Secretary, Ernakulam Autism Club.

Soon, regular training sessions will be held every weekend so that experts can come and give these youngsters better exposure on making things. This will help them do it from home and earn a living as well. “Firstly, they need to master in whatever they are good at doing so that we can start making them bulk and sell it off. We want to oppose usage of plastic and make our products more eco-friendly”, says Biju.

IT giants like Cognizant have stepped up to offer free training in computers for those youngsters under the spectrum who are good with gadgets. In the long process, they will look into those who excel and hire them for jobs too. Registrations are done for free.

“It was a very informative session. ‘Kaivalya’, an initiative by the government gives vocational training, capacity building sessions and preparatory classes for various examinations based on their capabilities. The products made would be sold at various melas and fairs during festival seasons. The trainers are willing to train and hone their skills and develop a product which could be put up for sale. It helps them to become independent and increases their self-esteem”, says Anita Pradeep, whose son who has autism, participated in the event.

For more details, contact Biju Issac at +91 93884-18570.

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