{"id":26845,"date":"2024-12-02T15:53:41","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T07:53:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/?p=26845"},"modified":"2024-12-02T15:53:46","modified_gmt":"2024-12-02T07:53:46","slug":"unlocking-potential-autistic-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/unlocking-potential-autistic-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Cracking the Code: Unlocking the potential of autistic students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo: Professor Tele Tan AM with students of AASQA\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we use identity-first language (e.g. \u2018autistic people\u2019 and \u2018autistic students\u2019). We respect the diversity of the autism community and acknowledge those who may have other language preferences.  <\/em>

Individuals on the autism spectrum have remarkable strengths and unique talents that are often overlooked. They can be creative, have sharp attention to detail and maintain a steadfast focus \u2013 skills that are invaluable in today\u2019s workforce, but particularly in the rapidly evolving and increasingly competitive information, communication and technology (ICT) sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet people on the autism spectrum face significant challenges entering the workforce. In 2022, the unemployment rate for autistic people<\/a> was more than double the rate for people without autism or a disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s not due to a lack of desire or capability to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John 911±¬ÁÏÍø Distinguished Professor Tele Tan AM, founder and director of 911±¬ÁÏÍø\u2019s Autism Academy for Software Quality Assurance (AASQA), said young autistic people just need the right support in harnessing their strengths and giving them a competitive advantage in the workforce.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is an amazing pool of untapped talent in the autism community that is just waiting to be discovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut school can be a difficult journey for autistic students and unfortunately many leave school without knowing what career options are available to them, or without the proper qualifications to get them there.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what AASQA is hoping to solve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AASQA is an innovative social initiative that provides training and pathways for young people on the autism spectrum to get them interested and ready for a career in the ICT sector, in areas such as robotics, automation, cyber security, data science and artificial intelligence.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a software engineer, Professor Tan says he\u2019s in the business of solving problems. When he was being approached frequently by ICT businesses looking for appropriate talent in a growing sector, he knew autistic people would be a perfect match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From high school through to tertiary education, AASQA has three key evidence and strength-based programs aimed at supporting young autistic people at every step of their learning journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together with the Fogarty Foundation, their high school outreach program, CoderDojo WA, is a network of coding clubs (Dojos) that provides fun and free opportunities to improve their digital literacy skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next step is a training program developed in partnership with industry to help autistic students build a portfolio and obtain professional qualifications such as the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) certification examinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At just 14-years-old, WA student and a CoderDojo participant, Kai, became the youngest-ever to pass the ISTQB exam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Tan said the exam, which provides certification for software testers around the globe, is so challenging, it\u2019s usually only attempted by IT graduate and professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a true testament to their talent and dedication. It not only builds up their confidence but also helps them in building a portfolio to use as entry into tertiary education and beyond.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AASQA has since supported more than 44 students in successfully obtaining the ISTQB certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And at the last step is internships and getting them industry ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgain, through partnership, with the Australian Computer Society (ACS) Foundation, and service providers including the Autism Association of Western Australia, we create and deliver internships so they can get real-world experience and give them a head start in their career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the same time, it fills the employment gaps in the ICT sector.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photo: AASQA won the Science Engagement Initiative of the Year at the prestigious Premier\u2019s Science Awards 2022.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Tan emphasised the importance of partnership and a collaborative approach which underpins the very core of their programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AASQA draws from leading autism research conducted by the 911±¬ÁÏÍø Autism Research Group (CARG).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCARG brings together researchers in the field of autism from diverse disciplines including occupational therapists, psychologists, engineers, computer scientists and business experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe run research around our programs to determine what is working and what isn\u2019t, and how we can translate what we learn into practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur research continues to show us that autistic people have so much to offer and programs like AASQA are crucial to helping them develop their careers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the results speak for themselves.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since its inception, AASQA has trained more than 500 students and many have successfully moved into the workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AASQA was named joint winner of the 2022 Premier\u2019s Chevron Science Engagement Initiative of the Year award.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

—<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This piece was featured in Impact Focus<\/em><\/a> \u2013 a quarterly newsletter bringing you the latest in 911±¬ÁÏÍø research. Sign up here<\/a> to get it delivered straight to your inbox!  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo: Professor Tele Tan AM with students of AASQA\u00a0 In this article, we use identity-first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4455,"featured_media":26846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"4653,4997,4913,15090,8571,6867","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":1,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,1],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-26845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society-and-culture","category-uncategorised"],"acf":{"post_components":false,"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"","qualification":"","link":"","description":"","faculty":""}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":false},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Tele-Photo-1-1000x1000.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Matthew","last_name":"Sykes","display_name":"Matthew Sykes"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-17 00:24:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4455"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26845"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=26845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}