Friday the 13 of August was anything but unlucky for the guests in attendance at the City of Mandurah's Autism at Work breakfast.
The event was inspired by the recently published employment tool supporting companies hoping to employ and/or who are working with members of the autistic community.
The Mandurah Performing Arts Centre was the perfect backdrop for the inspirational panelists who spoke both professionally and personally about the benefits of having autistic employees in the workplace and the strengths of autism.
"Mandurah is so forward thinking in the inclusive space."
- Michelle Wong, event host
After five years of research, the Integrated Employment Success Tool has been published and is being showcased here in Mandurah.
There were more than 80 registered attendees, from state and local government to business owners, service providers and members of the autistic community, all coming together to learn about the benefits of hiring and working with autistic colleagues.
Attendees were educated and entertained by an expert panel including Mandurah local, Professor Lyn Beazley OA former Western Australian of the Year and passionate advocate for neurodiversity and Lisa Munday MLA (Dawesville), who spoke not as a politician, but as a mother of two autistic sons.
Other panelists included heads of research and co-author of the tool from Curtin University Prof. Sonya Girdler and Prof. Tele Tan AM who was recognised this year for his service to the autistic community.
They were joined by an incredible young autistic man, Liam Picen, sharing his success story to employment, as the youngest person in the world to pass the International Software Testing Qualification.
"I then went on to mentor the new youngest person to pass the test!" Mr. Picen told the gathering.
Paschal McCarthy from Mandurah Catholic College spoke about supporting autistic students and Tracey Joynson from BankWest shared her experiences around the benefits of working with members of the autistic community.
Event host, Michelle Wong, a Mandurah local who volunteers with autistic youth saw the city as the perfect place to host such a positive event, celebrating the strengths of these incredible community members.
"Mandurah is so forward thinking in the inclusive space. Embracing this tool in the business community will set the standards for other local governments to follow suit and reap the benefits of working with the autistic community," she said.
Opening the event, Mayor Rhys Williams announced a call to action to the business owners and politicians in the room saying, "Today is not a free breakfast, we want to improve the employment outcomes for the autistic community and we want businesses to use this tool as the City of Mandurah will be".
The response to the breakfast was extremely positive, with many business owners in the room now considering the benefits of hiring members of the autistic community with the support of the employment tool.
The Integrated Employment Success Tool (IEST) can be downloaded for free at www.autismcrc.com.au/access/user/register/iest
The breakfast was supported by the City of Mandurah, Halls Head Community Bank and Lisa Munday MLA.
The photos appearing in this story were taken by autistic Year 9 student Caiden Martin.
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