'Agricultural specialisterne': rural employment revolution for those with Autism

[Visionary7903]

The subject of a number of recent posts, for example this one, was the Autism Skateboarding Foundation, or A.Skate. A.Skate (which stands for ‘Autism: Skating with Kids through Acceptance Therapy and Education’) is an Alabama-based nonprofit whose goal is to teach kids on the Autism Spectrum to skateboard and teach awareness to a demographic that might not otherwise know about Autism.

In April 2011, A.Skate teamed up with Autism Speaks as well as etnies for a skate clinic in Lake Forest, California. etnies is a footwear brand based in Lake Forest, California, United States–the company sponsors professional skateboarders and releases signature shoe models…

…“By providing a day of skate clinics, kids on the autism spectrum will be given the opportunity to learn how to skateboard, an activity that requires no team or competitive coaching,” said Don Brown, senior vice president of marketing for etnies. “Skateboarding is an individual activity and ideal for kids on the spectrum because they often struggle with social interaction. As a brand started and still run by a world-championship skateboarder Pierre-Andr? Senizergues, etnies is so happy to be teaching what we know to kids that deserve a window into the world of skateboarding where we are all the same, whether you are on the spectrum or not.”

etnies, together with Autism Speaks, North America’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, and the A.skate Foundation, an organization that allows children with autism to be a part of our social world through skateboarding, aim to provide children on the spectrum with a new outlet to express themselves while also raising awareness about this very important disorder affecting one in 110 children…

Here is a link to a video on the ‘Etnies, A.Skate, & Autism Speaks’ Skate Clinic at Etnies Skatepark: Etnies, A.Skate, & Autism Speaks - Skate Clinic at Etnies Skatepark April 2, 2011 - YouTube

(source: http://etnies.com/blog/2011/3/28/shine-a-light-on-autism-this-weekend/)