League School of Greater Boston Hosts Successful Kickoff Meeting for Neurodiversity Employment Incubator Project

The League School of Greater Boston, in an effort to further its goal of increasing employment opportunities for its neurodiverse student population, held the initial meeting of the newly-formed Neurodiversity Employment Incubator Project this week.

The incubator project brings together local educators, businesses and other interested parties for a collaborative effort that will benefit not only League School students but members of the neurodiverse population and the greater community at large.

The initial meeting, held in the League School’s Vetstein Auditorium on Thursday, May 25, was attended by nearly a dozen people in person and several more who joined remotely. 

Individuals with autism, as is true for the entire disability community, have much higher unemployment rates than the general population. The Neurodiversity Employment Incubator Project seeks to bring together a wide range of stakeholders to create employment opportunities in the community through the development of businesses and partnerships designed to meet the employment needs of neurodiverse individuals. 

The incubator project has two primary goals:

• First, through a collaborative effort, create businesses/partnerships in the community whose purpose is to employ neurodiverse individuals as a majority of the business’ workforce. 
• Second, develop a consultative service for already-established businesses that want to learn how to better work with a neurodiverse workforce.

Kristine Biagiotti Bridges, from the Dell Technologies True Abilities Program, was the guest speaker for Thursday’s meeting. She spoke about her experiences with developing the True Abilities program to recruit neurodiverse employees for Dell, the importance of partnerships and collaboration in these endeavors, as well as her experience as a mother of two children with different abilities.

Moving League School Forward

League School CEO Larry Sauer opened Thursday’s meeting and spoke about the school’s recent efforts to increase vocational opportunities for students. A key component of the school’s recently adopted Strategic Plan is the construction of a Career Education Center, which is currently in the planning stages with the ultimate goal of completion by 2025. 

Through the planning of the center it became clear that providing students with vocational skills and training within the current school environment was not enough, and this new Career Education Center will provide much greater opportunities for students to succeed in the working world following graduation. It was also clear that while League School students will be trained in the necessary employment skills, the opportunities in the working world for neurodiverse individuals are limited with a greater than 80% unemployment rate. The goal of the incubator project is to increase those job opportunities for students after they graduate.

The Neurodiversity Employment Incubator Project, which will meet regularly moving forward, will be developed parallel with the planning and building of the Career Education Center and enhance the school’s position as a leader in providing vocational education and training for neurodiverse individuals.

Learn More or Get Involved

For more information on the Neurodiversity Employment Incubator Project, contact League School CEO Larry Sauer at lsauer@leagueschool.com or call 508-850-3900 ext. 343.