Cameron Jung speaks matter-of-factly about his many achievements.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science last year, specializing in software engineering.
His goal is to work in Winnipeg’s software-development sector, but his dream is game design. The market is competitive, so in the meantime, he makes games for fun.
Programming skills are, in some ways, similar to muscles, he explains; if you don’t use them, you lose them. At the moment, he’s building a turn-based strategy game similar to rock paper scissors.
He’s also one of many young people struggling to find employment in his field, and he’s got an extra hurdle to jump in order to gain entry to the rat race: he has both attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder.
“Getting a job, in general, is very hard, so when you add something on, that amplifies something that is already a very difficult thing … it’s difficult to relate to people, and that’s true for me,” the 29-year-old says.
“That sort of results in a pathologically introverted personality. You’re very scared to go out and meet new people and, unfortunately, a big part of getting a job is networking.”
Finding employment as a neurodivergent person — an umbrella term used to describe anyone whose behavioural or cognitive patterns are outside what’s considered the norm — is, indeed, difficult.
Statistics Canada data from 2020 shows that out of Canadians between the ages of 20 and 64 surveyed who had a disability and considered autism to be one of the medical conditions causing them difficulty, only 33 per cent reported being employed.
Just over half of the people surveyed for that data listed their sole source of income coming from non-employment streams (which can include social assistance, pensions and spousal support) and 74 per cent said they get help with everyday activities, including managing personal finances.
The correlation between autism and reported poor mental health is high: while 70 per cent of the general Canadian household population described their mental health positively, just 16 per cent of people with autism did the same.
Jung has been working to combat his anxiety. He joined Level It Up, a non-profit dedicated to connecting people on the autism spectrum to careers in STEAM — science, tech, engineering, arts and math — after graduating.
Level It Up has suggested job postings, proofread his cover letters and even helped him get involved in Winnipeg’s “game jam” scene. Similar to the idea of a musical jam session, game jams get game-design enthusiasts together to collaborate and build a video game from scratch.
Jung has made friends at game jams, and between the support of Level It Up and other local developers, he has built a place in the game-design community while navigating the job market.
“It’s helped me get used to meeting people, and when you get used to something it’s not as scary,” he says. “It’s still a bit nerve-racking, but I can, more or less, deal with it.”
Work-placement programs for people with autism exist, but Level It Up executive director Anne Kresta, a longtime disability advocate, found there was a gap in the system when someone on the spectrum with an advanced education was seeking employment.
“Especially in software developing, and in some of the more technical fields, engineers, anything where there’s specialist, deep-dive knowledge required, that’s where autism lives very nicely,” she says.
What came next was a pilot project in 2017 from Kresta and two other members of Asperger Manitoba Inc. that worked with volunteers who had autism to assess what their specific needs were.
Much of the focus was on the minute details of job-hunting that might seem obvious to some, but not to all. Kresta recalls that rather than applying for jobs based on their qualifying skills, some people wouldn’t bother if their qualifications didn’t perfectly match the wording of the posting.
“Helping with understanding workplace cultures, understanding communication skills, social communication on the job, those kinds of things, we built up this program to provide that training,” she says.
Level It Up was launched in 2018, and has helped about 100 people since. They work one-on-one with clients to build profiles of their skills, abilities and possible special needs. The clients are free to take them and use them on their own, but Level It Up also offers to share the profiles with potential employers and get involved in the interview process.
They also work with local businesses to ensure employers are equipped to support employees’ skills. This can range from providing material supports such as noise-cancelling headphones to training involving workplace interactions, explaining how to ensure employers and staff are on the same page when it comes to instructions and tasks, for example.
While the agency has met with enthusiasm from some employers, others haven’t been receptive to the idea of making changes to their employment styles regardless of applicants’ actual skill levels, Kresta said.
“There are so many talented people, and (autism spectrum disorder) prevalence rates are one in 50.”– Anne Kresta
A 2023 report from the Manitoba office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (co-authored by Kresta) found young adults transitioning from school life to adulthood listed a lack of willingness from employers to include people with disabilities in their workplace as a common barrier.
“There are so many talented people, and (autism spectrum disorder) prevalence rates are one in 50,” Kresta says.
“Wherever you go, you’re going to find them, so it’s time to really figure out how to use this untapped workforce in a way that benefits you, but also benefits them.”
To mark World Autism Awareness Day Tuesday, Level It Up wrapped up a Lego build contest that drew entries from across the country and raised funds for the non-profit agency. Voting closed at noon Tuesday for the 21 intricate Lego sculptures, which range from cruise ships and castles to a replica of Winnipeg’s Nutty Club building.
The United Nations General Assembly declared April 2 as World Autism Awareness day in 2008 to draw attention to the growing need for innovative programs designed to support those with autism.
Outside of a partnership with federally funded hiring initiative Ready, Willing and Able, Level It Up operates solely through donations and grants.
While there is provincial funding available for organizations such as hers, Kresta says guidelines for receiving provincial funding as it’s structured now are restrictive for more “non-traditional” labour-force support organizations.
“There are certain constraints that are put upon the provincial funding, let’s say, through employability systems for people with disabilities, where you’re only allowed to offer certain supports ahead of time, and certain supports after hire. We want to be able to provide more comprehensive support,” she says.
At Bit Space Development (also known as BSD XR), a small team of about 20 people develop the tech of the future: virtual reality, artificial intelligence and hologram deployment. Multiple people have come to the company through Level It Up, including the company’s head of web development and computer engineer.
As BSD XR’s founder and chief technology officer Dan Blair puts it, everyone has the right to opportunity.
“What some employers fail to do is understand that they are a piece of an overall economy, not an empire, and so they need to support the people around them to grow to the best that they possibly can be, and that is the only way to build a competitive team.”– Dan Blair
“A good amount of people will often hire people that are on the autism spectrum and put them into token positions … we’ve been really adamant around making sure that when we hire we’re hiring people for positions that matter,” he said.
The work they do can be “out-there,” Blair says, and finding people who have different methods of problem-solving and critical thinking is necessary — and other employers less willing to work around the needs of the people they hire will be unable to keep up with the increasingly competitive sector.
“What some employers fail to do is understand that they are a piece of an overall economy, not an empire, and so they need to support the people around them to grow to the best that they possibly can be, and that is the only way to build a competitive team,” he says.
“You can’t work people like machines, and you can’t put them off in a corner just to tick a box. That might solve a problem for a short period of time, but that won’t help you grow in the long-term.”
Meanwhile, Jung continues to work with Level It Up and is still handing out job applications. He’s not sure where he’ll end up, but as he describes it, “as long as I’m making something, that’s what makes me happy.”
When asked what he would like potential employers to know about him and other job-hunters on the spectrum, he noted there is no one answer that could represent them all.
“I’ve thought about this for a while,” he says. “What I have to say is, don’t judge anybody based on any labels they might have. Neurodivergent people — neurodivergency — is extremely broad, and whatever you might have learned might not apply to any given individual.
“I’d actually say this is probably a good rule of thumb for just about every aspect of a person. Meet someone on individual basis, and that’s how you judge them.”
malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca
