On April 2, we celebrate World Autism Awareness Day, a date dedicated to broadening the population's knowledge about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and thus combating the prejudice and discrimination that still surround people with the disorder.
Despite the advances and the expansion of the debate on ASD in recent years, especially in new spaces of society, it is still necessary to fight for equal opportunities. According to data from IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), it is estimated that 85% of people with ASD are unemployed in Brazil (an alarming number that reveals the lack of inclusion and unpreparedness of the labor market.
In order to transform this reality, a SoulCode Academy it emerged during the pandemic with the mission of developing digital literacy and democratizing access to technological training for minorities. Since then, edtech has trained more than 800 people with disabilities (PCDs) Alexander Caus Haddad, diagnosed with ASD.
“Inclusion is still starting in the technology market, and training opportunities like this show that we are advancing in this fight. A person with Autism Spectrum Disorder is neither better nor worse than anyone, just has a different way of seeing the world & this can be very valuable for an” company, says Alexandre.
On the other hand, it is essential that companies are really prepared to promote a genuine inclusion of diverse people nd something that goes far beyond compliance with the quota law provided for in Brazilian law.An example of initiative in this regard is the work of the Mental Clean, a pioneer company in Brazil in psychology applied to worker health, which develops actions aimed at mental health and diversity in organizations.
