Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Austin Malcolm
Practical Implications
Background
Can 3D-technology be used to enhance therapy for children with autism and help adults
with autism become more employable? Employers and business owners will always want skilled,
eager and able-bodied individuals to work for them. What is counter-intuitive to this notion is
that there is a large (and growing) workforce of citizens that are more than capable of stellar
work, but for multiple reasons are not given the fair opportunity. The neglected portion of the
workforce described refers to adults with autism. Each year, more and more moderate- and high-
functioning individuals with autism are graduating from secondary education settings with few
options thereafter. In recent studies it has been recorded that over half of the students with
Autism Spectrum Disorder that graduate high school are not able to obtain employment,
Hillman, 2016).
For students in the general population, finding a job after high school seems as logical
and expected as the answer to two plus two. For students with autism, leaving the resources and
comfort that schools provide can be terrifying all on its own. However, if those students with
autism are not able to acquire the necessary life skills by the time they graduate, employment
seems all but impossible, leaving few options but to continue living at home with their family.
The biggest challenges facing older students with autism and finding employment lies in the
difficulty of finding a job relevant to their intense interest, while also finding quality training and
open-minded employers thereafter. For this reason, this proposal is being put forward to initiate a
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vocational training/service program that would aim for an end goal of a small-business run by
people with autism creating useful products for children with autism.
(http://malcolmppe310.weebly.com/)
Program Description
software and laser-cutters, this program looks to exploit the upcoming job market revolving
around 3D-printed objects. This program centers closely around 3D-printing technology because
of its versatility towards other career fields, as well as the modeling process being a natural fit
for people with autism due to their visual-learning styles. Modern autism therapy and
intervention methods involve the use of personal reinforcers (objects of obsession used to
motivate students with autism towards appropriate or target behaviors) and are utilized in token-
Christy & Haymes, 1996). With this principle in mind, 3D-printing technology can be used to
create and develop customized, personalized reinforcers tailored specifically towards each child
using input and observations from the student, their parents and their educators (Carr, Nicolson
& Higbee, 2000). In this context, the community to support this program will involve students
(both the young being served and the teenagers producing the products), administrators to track
the progress and funding of their program, as well as by receiving positive, enthusiastic
responses teachers and parents to bridge the recognition of student efforts between home and
school.
Marketing
One of the first major assets to the kickstart of this program will be to choose a name. By
giving a permanent title to our program, it will greatly improve our success towards marketing
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and acquiring funding from outside sources. In order to continue the spirit of inclusion that the
program evokes, the name would best be chosen as a collective effort by members of the autism
In the beginning of the program, advertisements with the programs name will be posted
These initial posters will be used as a way to introduce the concept of 3D-printed therapy
services, as well as spark an interest in students who are naturally fond of technology, computers
or design (Wright, Wright, Diener, Rafferty & Sampson, 2017). Later, advertisements will be
used and directed more as recruitment for additional students to enter the program and continue
to educate the community on our resources. Visual marketing will be bright and engaging to
reflect the personalities of the students involved and may include example images to showcase
Funding
Much of the equipment and continued costs relevant to 3D-printing revolves around
actual printing technology and the computers to design the products. While 3D-printing
machines can start for as low as a few hundred to a few thousand dollars for a personal use
model, machines that are capable and intended for faster production in commercial cost
anywhere up to $250,000. Factoring in costs for the prerequisite technologies, a major source of
funding will have to come from grants or extremely generous donations. Funding from
government grants will be sought after and applications will be submitted, but this cant be a sole
source of funding (Southall, 2013). While fundraising may be an engaging opportunity for
students to raise money in their community, it would take them several lifetimes in order achieve
the level of funding that we require from local, small fundraising events alone. Total acquisition
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of finances for low-range equipment could be achievable in 6 months to a year, and commercial
level equipment may be an achievable goal in 4 to 5 years with proper planning and effective
implementation.
Committee
program alongside administrators and teachers relevant to students lives. This regularly
scheduled gathering can be used as 1) a way to track the progresses, changes, deficiencies and
improvements made within the program, and 2) a way to track the changes within each
individual student in conjunction with their established IEPs. Additionally, committee may be
responsible for organizing activities or events directly related to the programs reputation or
identity, such as helping to select a name for the program or its logo design. Parents may also
choose to be involved, although the committee will most likely meet during the school/work day.
Engagement
The children with autism receiving services from this program will have direct influence
and ownership of the reinforcement tools they because they will be vital agents in the design
process, especially considering the reinforcements are meant to keep the child satiated towards
obsessions (Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1996). Transition-aged students enrolled in the program
will receive thorough training and continued support as they master relevant key skills and
eventually move on to help produce the 3D printed products and becoming part of the business-
side of the program. Students enrolled in the program will also be motivated and engaged by the
relevancy of the skills and by the personal investment they make towards becoming more
Educational Components
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Students enrolled in program will receive training relevant to the skills necessary to the
roles that encompass this program. Teachers and staff will be on-hand to assist, but the
technology-educator will be lead in this situation. Classes and skills will cover basic computer
usage, intro and intermediate lessons in 3D-modeling, as well as an in-depth look at the
construction, operation and troubleshooting involved with the 3D printers and printing process.
Students will also be encouraged regularly to indirectly educate their family members in this
Recognition
Students enrolled in program will be recognized for their efforts by logging in their
education progress into a digital portfolio, as well as documenting any finished products they
produce. Additionally, students that produce functional products may integrate a signature-based
marking to their products as a more emotional gesture. Faculty and educators may also include
updates and products created by the program to any relevant newsletter, community board or
similarly appropriate announcement. Within this program, there are many ways to show
Conclusion
This program is designed, from beginning to end, with people with autism at the forefront
of every consideration. Should this plan be implemented and executed properly, the end result
several years later may be a small team of adults with autism designing and printing enjoyable
therapy tools for youngsters with autism, while also helping to train teenagers and young adults
with autism how to use the same technology that gave them a chance at success. Not only is this
program idea innovative and ties naturally to the common interests of younger people with
autism, real-world programs similar to this are already being tried. In Maricopa County, a small
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became a center of inspiration for many adults with autism by offering to teach them skills
related to 3D-printing, laser-cutting, robotics and phone repair (MacDonald-Evoy, 2017). This
programs success shows that it is more that possible for a program such as the one explained in
this paper to provide life-long, employable skills and assets to people with autism, which helps
them become independent and integrates them into the work-force of the general population.
center that TIP relied upon filed for foreclosure and has left the program with much fewer
resources and no location from which to suitably operate (Hechanova, 2017). This sounds
disparaging, but in fact it should be interpreted as a learning opportunity for this program, in that
the programs model is more than functional, but it will be necessary to secure funding and
References
Carr, J.E., Nicolson, A.C. & Higbee, T.S. (2000) Evaluation of a Brief Multiple-Stimulus Preference
https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/pmc/articles/PMC1284262/
Charlop-Christy, M.H. & Haymes, L.K. (1996). Using Obsessions as Reinforcers With and Without
https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/41559135/Using_obsessions_as_reinforcers
_with_and20160125-25145-
1bcv7hv.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1509504982&Sign
ature=oqBWzCSPOlxisWfzgBv9%2FjqH9cc%3D&response-content-
disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DUsing_obsessions_as_reinforcers_with_and.pdf
Hechanova, M. (2017, November 15). TechShop suddenly shuts down in Chandler. AZ Family.
chandler
MacDonald-Evoy, J. (2017, October 11). Adults with Autism Learn Skills to Move Beyond 'Dead-ends,'
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/chandler/2017/10/04/how-chandler-tech-shop-and-
robotics-entrepreneur-help-adults-autism-thrive/705223001/
Sherman, M.L., Lerman, D.C. & Hillman, C.B. (2016). Teaching Social Play Skills to Adults and
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/doi/10.1002/jaba.299/full
Southall, C. (2013) Use of Technology to Accommodate Differences Associated with Autism Spectrum
Disorder in the General Curriculum and Environment. Journal of Special Education Technology,
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=9b8268
2a-95b0-499c-b625-91c8bde717cd%40sessionmgr4008
Wright, C.A., Wright, S.D., Diener, M.I., Rafferty, D., Sampson, A. (2017) Leveraging 3D Technology
https://doaj.org/article/f641c94e0e914b03bf690e73d8a4ea21
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Appendix A
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Appendix B
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Appendix C