According to estimates, there are about 100 million people with autism worldwide, across various spectrums, with Vietnam having just under 1 million individuals. The number of people with autism is on the rise. However, a staggering 80-90% of autistic individuals in the working age group struggle to find employment. In reality, many autistic individuals possess strengths in observation, artistic talents, and high levels of concentration. Providing career guidance, vocational training, and creating job opportunities for autistic individuals not only holds humanitarian significance, enabling them to lead fulfilling lives and careers, but also significantly contributes to alleviating burdens on families and society.
When discussing autism, most people tend to associate it only with children. However, it exists across various age groups and can persist throughout life. Children with autism typically experience delayed development, reduced communication skills, behavioral and emotional abnormalities, and various sensory disorders. Only about 20% of autistic children can communicate and learn, but still face difficulties in social interactions. The remaining 80% continue to grow into autistic adults.
Autism can be both a strength and a weakness for individuals. In fact, it has been demonstrated that autistic individuals possess certain skills that are well-suited for specific job positions, enabling them to excel and deliver high-quality work. Many autistic individuals have notable strengths, some even exceptional. For instance, autistic individuals often excel in focusing on details, suitable for tasks requiring sequential work, clear execution formulas, and not demanding strict time constraints. Another characteristic is their punctuality and reliability.
Training and career guidance for autistic individuals are more challenging than for neurotypical individuals but not impossible. In the long term, early intervention methods and school support for autistic children, if not followed up with vocational training, skills development, job hunting, etc., fail to lay the groundwork for their future self-reliance. In the current context, supporting employment for autistic individuals not only has humanitarian significance, providing them with a complete life and career, but also presents an economic solution to alleviate burdens on communities, society, and their families.
In Vietnam, since 2008, when the UN officially designated April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day, with activities of the Vietnam Autism Network, society and the community have gradually gained better awareness of autism (not seeing it as an illness, not discriminating against autistic children, etc.). There are increasingly more projects, models, training centers, etc., nationwide focusing on educating and vocational training for autistic children, creating safe and stable job opportunities, helping them become self-sufficient.
The center is a non-profit social organization providing counseling, early detection, early intervention, and care for intellectually disabled (ID) and autistic children through a combination of medical and educational services. In recent years, the center’s leadership has recognized the importance of vocational guidance for autistic children, ID, and the growing needs of parents as well as intellectually disabled teenagers to learn pre-vocational and vocational skills, with the desire for a brighter future and greater independence. Therefore, the center has developed plans to create a practical environment for life skills and vocational training classes for intellectually disabled, autistic children at the center. This noble goal of Gold Time Education has been supported by the International Women’s Club, which provided financial support for the center to carry out the project of upgrading the coffee shop, opening a bakery training room with the aim of creating a place for practical life skills practice, enhancing communication confidence for disadvantaged teenagers in integration. Whether learning coffee making, various drinks, or selling, baking, serving… Gold Time Education always creates a suitable learning environment for each student with a professional and dedicated team of teachers.
The bakery training room for autistic, intellectually disabled older children studying at Gold Time Education to introduce the coffee shop and bakery products made by them. When participating in activities at the coffee shop or bakery, the children will be taught and guided by competent teachers on stages of making drinks, baking, or how to serve customers at the coffee shop. The purpose of the shop is not for business but to help autistic, intellectually disabled children at teenage age have the opportunity to learn, practice necessary skills for an independent and integrated life. These skills are the best tools for them to integrate into life, become independent, reduce burdens, providing peace of mind for parents of autistic children, ID. Revenue from selling coffee, cakes, or photocopies will be used to reinvest in buying materials for the children to practice and purchase books, study materials for them.
Moreover, within the center’s premises, there is a small vegetable garden where the center’s students can improve their awareness and experience of the surrounding environment as well as learn how to plant and care for various vegetables and fruits such as spinach, cabbage, sponge gourd, beans. The produce will be purchased by the center’s kitchen to improve the quality of the students’ meals. When there is excess produce, the students themselves will be the ones to sell the vegetables, fruits, and cakes they make to customers. This helps the students become more confident, assertive, and improves their communication skills in life.
From the desire to create a place for practical life skills practice, vocational education for students of teenage age at the center, Gold Time Education has successfully built the model of a coffee shop – bakery – vegetable garden. This is a commendable achievement for parents of autistic children, intellectually disabled as well as for the students themselves. This model has opened up a new direction in vocational activities for autistic, intellectually disabled teenagers studying at the center in particular and in Hanoi in general. Hopefully, the community will continue to support the students so that their products can be widely consumed in the market, providing encouragement and motivation for them to study and work better, helping them have solid skills, and being able to actively work such as opening a bakery, being a worker for bakery production, restaurant service staff,… generating income, supporting themselves, changing society’s incomplete perception of autism and intellectual disabilities.
Love will triumph over all hardships, difficulties, and challenges. Give trust, give love, give opportunities to autistic, intellectually disabled children, and they will achieve things that seem impossible.
