Teenagers often need direction. They are too young to know where they are going with their lives, but too old to not be actively working towards their future careers. When your child reaches high school, it’s time to start focusing on ways to build their resume with a list of useful job-related skills. Sometimes, vocational skills are offered through their high school. Other times, you’ll need to find volunteer opportunities or courses. For example, your child can learn work placement skills through a local community centre, animal shelter or gallery. At Monarch House, we can help parents, caregivers, and educators with some strategies to equip children with autism with practical abilities tailored to their interests and strengths. 

Here are ten vocational skills opportunities for children with autism in Markham.

1. Horticulture And Landscaping

Maybe your child likes to spend time outdoors. Maybe you do too. If time working in the garden together sounds like a summer dream come true, then encourage your child to nurture their green thumb with some horticulture classes. There are courses at community centres and sometimes even at school that teach gardening, plant care, and landscaping skills. Your child with autism can learn to grow plants, maintain gardens, and use basic tools. These are great life skills that you can do together but they also open doors to landscaping type jobs when they’re older. Horticultural skills can lead to opportunities at golf courses, nurseries, and parks. It’s a pleasant way to earn a living: landscaping and working on beautification projects the whole community can enjoy.

2. Hospitality and Event Management

Have you ever been given a tour of your child’s toy collection? When it comes to their special interests, is your child a gracious host and knowledgeable guide? If you envision your child working in tourism someday, there are classes in hospitality available. Look into programs and courses that focus on event planning, table setting, and customer service. Your child can even volunteer at a soup kitchen, gallery, or community centre to learn the basics of how to assist in organizing events. These skills can lead to work in roles in hotel hospitality and catering. A solid foundation in organization and people skills will boost their confidence in professional settings down the road.

3. Culinary Arts

Home economics is one of the classes that your child can take in high school that offers real-world, practical applications. You can also enrol your child in culinary arts classes as an extra curricular activity. Classes like these teach children with autism cooking and food preparation skills. They will cover the basics, so your child can learn practical skills like how to follow a recipe, measure ingredients, and stick to kitchen safety protocol. Knowing how to cook goes a long way towards enhancing the independence, creativity, and job readiness of your child. This opens doors down the road for various roles in food service or hospitality.

4. Computer and Technology Skills

Is your child already something of a tech wizard around the home? Do you look to them to help when it comes to updating your smartphone, or setting up a device on your wifi? A future in tech might be in the cards. Even if your child’s knowledge is limited to a single iPad, technology-focused classes can help students develop skills in troubleshooting, computer operation, data entry, word processing, and basic programming. If you envision your child with autism perhaps working in an office one day, these skills are invaluable for future employment in administrative support, IT, or graphic design. When it comes to diverse learning needs, there are many programs equipped with adaptive tools for children with autism and useful software to accommodate their learning journey. 

5. Retail And Customer Service Training

Can your child correctly count back change? How is their comfort level when it comes to maintaining short, friendly conversations with strangers? These are some simple, real-world skills that your child can acquire in courses that have a foundation in customer service or as an entry-level position at a job. For instance, retail training can introduce your child to roles such as cashiering, stocking shelves, and assisting customers. Your child will pick up some useful people skills along the way that will help them in any career down the road. Courses focused on retail and customer service training emphasize communication, problem-solving, and teamwork. At Monarch House, we have professional occupational therapists that can also help your child with role-playing scenarios. It definitely eases the transition into the workforce if students are able to practice interactions in a supportive environment in advance. 

6. Housekeeping And Maintenance

Look into classes offered at your local community centre. There are often opportunities geared towards preparing your child for their first job. Does your child like to put everything back in its correct place? Are they interested in fixing things and troubleshooting problems around the home? Classes focused on facility maintenance teach children with autism practical skills like cleaning, organizing, and basic repairs. These abilities can prepare your child for roles in hospitality, custodial services, or property management.

7. Creative Arts and Crafts

Art can be therapeutic. Having a hobby that stills the mind and promotes relaxation can be enormously beneficial to your child’s mental health. There are local and high school workshops and classes that can give children with autism an outlet to express themselves. For instance, creative arts classes allow students to explore skills in painting, crafting, sculpting, scrapbooking, and other artistic endeavours. These activities are excellent for enhancing fine motor skills, learning how to communicate ideas, and refining creativity. If you can see your child in a creative industry some day, look for programs that integrate entrepreneurship and commercial art. In this way, your child can learn skills like how to market and sell their creations.

8. Automotive Skills

Many secondary schools offer automotive classes which give teens the opportunity to learn their way around a vehicle and pick up some basic maintenance and repairs. Automotive classes teach skills such as how to change a tire, monitor oil levels, and become familiar with various vehicle parts. For children with autism with an interest in mechanics, this class can pave the way to roles in auto repair shops or dealerships.

9. Woodworking And Carpentry

Does your child gravitate towards working with tools like tape measures, levels, and hammers? There might be a future for them in the trades. Local and secondary school woodworking classes can teach your child how to use tools, measure materials, and create wooden items. These classes build problem-solving skills and can lead to careers for children with autism in construction, carpentry, or furniture making.

10. Animal Care

Volunteering at a local SPCA or animal shelter can give your child some real-world experience for their resume, and a potential future in working with animals. There is also 4H and various animal care classes that can teach your child how to groom, feed, and care for animals. They’d start with tasks that involve cleaning, feeding, and observing animal behaviour. These skills prepare students for roles in pet care, veterinary assistance, or for a job in a zoo or animal shelter.

There are many benefits of vocational skills classes for children with autism in Markham. Vocational classes offer more than job preparation; they build their social and communication skills, bolster their self-esteem, and usher in a new era of independence. Done correctly, the skills listed above ensure students with autism are better equipped for a productive and meaningful life. At Monarch House we have a professional, interdisciplinary staff of occupational therapists, behavioural therapists, psychotherapists, and speech pathologists that are here to help. We can generate sustained interest in this type of vocational training by tailoring classes to individual strengths and interests via IEPs and in-house preparations. Working together with parents, caregivers, educators, and families, we can ensure that these programs meet your child’s unique needs and aspirations.