Philosophy
Joy Dew's Philosophy is that we must redefine autism for the good of people with autism and society at large. At the heart of the solution is JoyDew's Autism 3.0 model, which "presumes competence" and its mission is rooted in the belief that, though they have unique challenges, all people with autism can become productive members of society, obtain meaningful employment if given the right tools, training, supportive environments, and can achieve their hopes and dreams.
Rather than focusing on limitations, JoyDew's positive strengths-based approach allows the organization to tap into the much greater growth potential for adults on the autism spectrum by identifying their unique strengths and building upon those in a way that helps them achieve fulfilling careers. 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.
Like any group, people with autism have their own identities. Their communication, body language, facial expressions and social interaction is different than neurotypical people. Rather than trying to change this, JoyDew simply accepts their identities.
Being able to expressively communicate is a basic human need. Since many people on the spectrum are non-speaking or have significant challenges in this area, JoyDew focuses on supporting communication through a variety of tools and techniques, and encouraging self-expression.
The most important thing to JoyDew members is to have real friends. For many of them, it is the first time they have ever had true friendships and it is life-changing. In every location, it is the members who naturally develop this community of their own.
Finally, all JoyDew members want to feel they are contributing to society and the simplest way to measure this is with employment. Because so many of them have unusual skills or talents above the population norms , our goal is to help them leverage this for high-value jobs and satisfying careers.
