Focus on Strengths
There are many innate interests, capabilities, and special skills or “superpowers” that people with autism possess, such as strong visual acuity, outstanding memory, enhanced logical or numerical thinking, hyperfocus, ability to recognize patterns, and ability to self-learn at exceptional speed, to name a few. Frequently they also have highly valued characteristics such as persistence, detail orientation, loyalty, appreciation of the job, and honesty.
Sensory
- Visual perception/acuity (detail, color, contrast, motion, depth)
- Auditory acuity (tone, pitch)
- Sense of Taste
- Touch
- Smell
Capabilities
- Exceptional memory
- Persistent / Sustained concentration
- Spatial ability
- Perfect pitch
- Pattern recognition
- Absorb knowledge quickly
- Self-learn quickly
Traits
- Detailed-oriented
- Concrete / Honest
- Loyal
- Conscientious
- Dependable / Reliable
- Imaginative / Creative
- Logical
- Observant
- Trustworthy
Strengths Assessment/Special Abilities
The core of the JoyDew philosophy and approach is to identify and develop the strengths of the autistic adult, as opposed to modifying their subjectively perceived “limitations”.
The first step in the process is to determine each person’s special gifts using JoyDew’s proprietary assessment tool. By completing the Strengths Identification Inventory Questionnaire, the candidate and their parents, teachers, and others who know them help produce a sample of that individual’s own unique qualities and learning style. This is later supplemented by the JoyDew staff based on their initial interactions with the member to build a personalized abilities database.
Autism 3.0: JoyDew View
• Autism has multiple spectrums.
• Focus on multiple intelligences and strengths.
• Employability regardless of support level.
JoyDew considers a strength to be more than what you are successful at, or have already achieved, but also aspects of your personality and abilities that can become strengths within a certain setting.
To capture the information about these gifts, we group them based on a slight modification of Dr. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences:
The Strength Assessment Tool:
When JoyDew originally sought an accurate and accepted measurement tool for its stakeholders, we soon found that none of the existing tools could accurately assess the strengths of the autistic population, of which many members are nonverbal and have motor planning deficits, high sensory sensitivity, and, most importantly, insufficient academic training.
Finding the right tool was essential for JoyDew to achieve its mission, so we developed its own, which assesses an expansive range of strengths and comprehensions with the whole spectrum of adults with autism in mind. As with all intelligence measurement tools, the organization’s tool is set up to achieve certain goals while addressing the different individual barriers.
Member Perspectives
“My abilities include great memory and cool character impersonations… …The jobs that would allow me to use my strength would be voiceovers and acting… I would also use my memory if I end up with a job that involves data analysis because I would identify points in data in just a few seconds.”
– Jake (4/6/2022)
Current Member Strengths
The Strengths Assessment Process:
The first Strengths Assessment round is given to every JoyDew member when they join the program. By completing the Strengths Identification Inventory Questionnaire, the candidate and their parents, teachers, and others who know them help produce a sample of that individual’s own unique qualities and learning style. This is later supplemented by the JoyDew staff based on their initial interactions with the member to build a personalized abilities database.
Once the questionnaires have been received, interviews take place with the learners/members and teachers, or other involved professionals to gain valuable, first-person input. A multi-disciplinary team reviews the material and analyzes the data identifying the unique abilities and potential strengths of each learner. Finally, a Strengths Identification Inventory Report is created. The Strengths Assessment Process is done twice annually in the first two years, and once every year thereafter.