August 16, 2021
- Google and Stanford are teaming up to hire more individuals on the spectrum. Through an initiative called Google Cloud’s Autism Career Program, the company will work with experts from the Stanford Neurodiversity Project to train approximately 500 Google Cloud managers and others to effectively work with candidates who have autism.
- The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine are currently collecting names of nominees to serve on a committee that will explore leading practices for improving accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities in disciplines that conduct field, laboratory, and computational research. Nominees must be received by Monday, August 23, 2021.
- An opinion piece in Scientific American theorizes that the etiology of autism may have roots in an impairment of predictive skills. The author explains that even though people with ASD have the ability to predict what is going to happen next, that process can be very challenging. Typically individuals on the spectrum perceive the world “too accurately” and often overemphasizing what they are experiencing at the moment. Therefore, their predictions become less influenced by prior experiences, which is what predictive skills are based upon.
- Individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits can save money received through stimulus checks and other COVID-19 relief programs due to a recent rule change. Previously, the Social Security Administration indicated that stimulus checks would not be considered income for SSI recipients and that they would be excluded from resources for 12 months. However, now there is no exclusion end date.
