Company Provides Unique Model For Other Businesses In Which 80 Percent Of Staff Has Autism [Video]

Over the last 10 years, the United States has increased both awareness and understanding on a condition known as autism, especially when it comes to younger people.

According to a previous article by the Inquisitr, a doctor from the Minnesota Institute of Technology (MIT) stated that by 2025, half of all American children will be autistic thanks to glyphosate, the active chemical in Monsanto’s Roundup. There were also studies that vaccinations were linked to autism, but Autism Speaks has “urged” parents to vaccinate their children, bringing up questions if the link was proven false.

Despite what is presently known about autism, one father-son business owner team is setting the standard when it comes to employing autistic people. As a matter of fact, about 80 percent of their workforce consists of individuals who fall somewhere on the autism spectrum.

According to NationSwell, the father-son team of John and Tom D’Eri started the Rising Tide Car Wash in Parkland, Florida, to give their son and brother, Andrew D’Eri, and its other workers, identified as autistic, the chance to lead a fulfilling employment life. The idea for the car wash came about prior to Andrew reaching the age of 22. That particular age is of importance in the autism community because virtually all government support expires when autistic people reach college-grad age. Tom gave a statement on what that dreaded age truly means.

“What we find in the autism community is that when someone turns 22 and ages out of the school system, there is very little meaningful activity. In the autism community we call that, ‘falling off the cliffs.'”

The D’Eri family decided that fate wouldn’t happen to Andrew. As a result, John and Tom D’Eri formed CanDo Business Ventures in 2011, a nonprofit focused on finding businesses that would employ autistic people. After research, the car wash industry was found to be a good match, catering to an autistic’s habits of detailing and repetition. Not to mention, it shows the public the value of autistic workers, something Tom calls a key competitive advantage.

This should surely bring autistic people to the forefront for plenty of jobs, especially those of a detailed and repetitive natures like assembly line workers, for example. The Huffington Post reports the percentage of autistic people who are unemployed is around 90 percent.

In conclusion, autistic people have proven to be some of the best employees as shown by Rising Tide Car Wash. There are expectations for expansion to three locations by 2016, employing more than 150 workers on the autism spectrum. Tom D’Eri probably says it best when it comes to the value of autistic people in the workforce.

“We as a society look at autism as a disability that requires sympathy, instead of a diversity that can be valuable in the workplace.”

[Image via YouTube Screencapture/NationSwell]