20 Y.O. With Autism Receives Thousands Of Comments And Job Offers After Posting A Wholesome Handwritten Cover Letter On LinkedIn
Employment was never a smooth process for many—disregarding the current social and political climate, the job market is a competitive sphere where people leverage their skills for the best positions. And on paper, it should work just fine. However, in reality, many things can impact whether or not you’ll get the job, including your gender, family situation, race, or even health history. All of those factors can determine your future, and it’s especially frustrating when you are denied certain opportunities because of something you cannot control. However, while some accept the situation (though reluctantly), others try to stand up for themselves, and sometimes those proclamations might push society towards wider acceptance.
More info: LinkedIn
Young man with autism posted a letter asking employers to give him a chance
Image credits: Ryan Lowry
Ryan Lowry is a young man from Leesburg, Virginia, who will soon graduate school, and it’s a suitable time to search for a job. But he also wants to be transparent and let his potential employers know he has autism, which can become a hitch in the best-laid plans. However, Ryan believes being upfront about his strengths and weaknesses is only fair when seeking a future career. “I realize that someone like you will have to take a chance on me, I don’t learn like typical people do,” said Ryan. “I would need a mentor to teach me, but I learn quickly, once you explain it, I get it. I promise that if you hire me and teach me, you’ll be glad that you did. I will show up every day, do what you tell me to do, and work really hard.”
He published a handwritten letter on LinkedIn in hopes of connecting with interested parties
Image credits: Ryan Lowry
The 20-year-old’s current dream is to work in animation, though a career path in IT is also not a bad choice. In the letter, he stressed he might need a mentor to help him get started, but he’s confident in his learning ability. The letter serves as an introductory card of sorts, and initially he was planning to type it out, but his younger brother suggested that he write the letter by hand. According to his father Rob Lowry, it made more sense to post the letter on a professional networking site rather than send copies by mail.
Ryan’s letter attracted the attention of both sympathetic people and potential employers
Image credits: Ryan Lowry
Image credits: Photo by Jay Korff/WJLA
Unsurprisingly, the heartfelt and honest letter got people’s attention. He has already received job offers, potential mentors, and people who want to network with him. “I’m in awe and never thought this would happen over one written letter,” said his mother Tracy Lowry. “I’m overwhelmed with joy for Ryan and for it opening a whole topic of conversation among employers to helping … people other than Ryan.” Currently, Ryan is leaning towards the offer from Exceptional Minds that would give him a chance to work in a three-year program designed to teach people with autism about animation; with this goal in mind, he’s now preparing his resume and portfolio.
This is another step to stop ostracizing employees with autism
Image credits: Ryan Lowry
While Ryan’s wholesome admission struck a chord with many, the general statistic is a lot gloomier. According to research from Learning Disability Today, only 32% of autistic adults are in some kind of paid employment in the UK, while in the US, statistics from IOS Press, published in 2015, show that around 50–86% of individuals with ASD were unemployed or underemployed in 2015.
People readily voiced their support for Ryan and shared their own insights about employment of individuals with ASD
9Kviews
Share on FacebookGreat to hear about all the people who reached out. I wish this young man all the best.
this is heartwarming , also wish him the best
Load More Replies...I love this. As a mom to a kid with autism, I know very well how the lack of employment opportunities affect them. I wish him the best.
This is one of my worries, my son is only 6 now but we do worry about what adulthood has in store for him. We can prepare him as best as we can to be independent
Load More Replies...Fact: The Dutch police employs people with autism to find rioters in thousands of photo's. They can stay focused for hours and have an incredible eye for detail which enables them to recognize people who show up in those pictures.
That's a great thing. I only worry that the Dutch might not have enough riots to make this a full time job.
Load More Replies...My son's favorite sister is on the spectrum, and she's an absolute treasure! I wish all the best for Ryan through his life, and hope he is employed by people who appreciate his contribution to their work.
This fills my heart with joy, my close friend has an autistic son, he's only 3 but I intend to be the coolest uncle ever to him, and am constantly informing myself of ways to interact and things he does or doesn't like, this article is just good news and I wish Ryan all the best in the world.
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Oh yea we watched a video in my class a while ago and so there was a married couple, and their adult son was autistic. So they started a bakery (since the wife loved to bake) and they employ people with special needs like autism and Down syndrome etc.
Companies looking to maximise short term profits(most companies regardless of their "mission statement") will always make this mistake, pushing the employment rate of people on the spectrum down. Additional side effects: high turnover of personnel, poor benefits, low engagement, frequent change of leadership and strategy with no consolidation of achieved methodologies after implementation, ....
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Great to hear about all the people who reached out. I wish this young man all the best.
this is heartwarming , also wish him the best
Load More Replies...I love this. As a mom to a kid with autism, I know very well how the lack of employment opportunities affect them. I wish him the best.
This is one of my worries, my son is only 6 now but we do worry about what adulthood has in store for him. We can prepare him as best as we can to be independent
Load More Replies...Fact: The Dutch police employs people with autism to find rioters in thousands of photo's. They can stay focused for hours and have an incredible eye for detail which enables them to recognize people who show up in those pictures.
That's a great thing. I only worry that the Dutch might not have enough riots to make this a full time job.
Load More Replies...My son's favorite sister is on the spectrum, and she's an absolute treasure! I wish all the best for Ryan through his life, and hope he is employed by people who appreciate his contribution to their work.
This fills my heart with joy, my close friend has an autistic son, he's only 3 but I intend to be the coolest uncle ever to him, and am constantly informing myself of ways to interact and things he does or doesn't like, this article is just good news and I wish Ryan all the best in the world.
On Demand Learning platform for Autism Education. https://helpinghand365.com/autism_children.html
Oh yea we watched a video in my class a while ago and so there was a married couple, and their adult son was autistic. So they started a bakery (since the wife loved to bake) and they employ people with special needs like autism and Down syndrome etc.
Companies looking to maximise short term profits(most companies regardless of their "mission statement") will always make this mistake, pushing the employment rate of people on the spectrum down. Additional side effects: high turnover of personnel, poor benefits, low engagement, frequent change of leadership and strategy with no consolidation of achieved methodologies after implementation, ....
GET RICH WITH BLANK ATM CARD. Have you guys heard of blank ATM cards which can withdraw money from any ATM machines around the world? I was very poor and have no job. I try getting a loan but it didn't work because of my bad credit score. I saw so many testimonies on how they got the blank ATM card and use it to withdraw cash in any ATM machine and become rich. I emailed them also and they sent me the ATM card. I have used it to get 90,000 dollars already within 5 days. This ATM card can hack and take money directly from any ATM machine vault because its well programmed and runs in automatic mode. For more information, kindly contact the card vendor with the below info Email: onlineblankatm24@gmail.com Or message us on Whatsapp +17605765579
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