What is PREP for IT?
Employment rates and outcomes for young adults with autism are much lower than expected for people of their intellectual talents. These substandard employment outcomes are often attributed to a lack of workplace readiness of young adults with autism for the social and professional nuances of the workplace. At the University of Washington (UW), we developed the Prepare for the Information Technology Workplace (PREP for IT) program to address the need for improving workplace readiness for young adults with autism. PREP for IT is a holistic professional development program designed specifically for students with autism pursuing careers in IT. We are focusing on IT first as a proof of concept; future iterations will include other disciplines.
OUR GOAL is to empower college student with autism who are pursuing IT careers to define their professional path and develop the tools to excel in the IT workplace.