Autism in the marketplace (Newsday)

Post Reply New Topic

Autism in the marketplace

Richard J. Dalton Jr. | Consumer Watch
2:44 PM EST, February 29, 2008

Sean Beaudoin, 25, has an autism spectrum disorder, but with help he has become fairly independent.

He has his own car. He works 20 hours a week as a kennel assistant. He has a credit card in his name, though his mother keeps it. And he has a good credit rating.

But his parents, Curtis and Paula Beaudoin, recently experienced the downside of such autonomy for their son, who lives with them in Nesconset.

more...

Thanks for posting that story-I wouldn't be able to engage in "haggling" (negotiation), whether or not I knew I was expected to do so. Am very cautious, so I don't get into trouble-but I miss out on many aspects of life because I know I cannot navigate the complexities inherent in such transactions. My parents are in no position to protect/cover me, either.

Hopefully people will realize that it's wrong to take advantage of anybody. That salesman was dishonest.

I thought I'd never be able to haggle either, but while I was living in Guatemala I learned. It made me angry when the ladies in the market would see the color of my skin and jack up the price of their wares. I would ask natives what they had paid for an object before going to buy it myself. So when I was told 5 quetzales for a pound of tomatoes, I simply replied "Interesting. My friend paid only 2." The seller would lower the price accordingly.

I don't think I'd buy a car without a very savvy friend along to help me out though. I know I could be fooled.

Amending the marketplace topic

There is an organization in Canada that is a business and advocacy for those with Special needs, and also a business managed and specifically desogned for those with special needs. This could be amended to assist and help those, like Sean, who want to make independent business decisions. This could involve setting up a business with the aim of handling big ticket items(cars, furniture, travel, even property) managed by and selling to people with special needs (including those on the Autism Spectrum). In this way, everyone would profit. I do not have all the business particulars or the savvy to set something up like this, but the idea is sound so that people living with AS can safely make business transactions, keep their independence and enable others like them to be entrepreneurs. This would be a business niche that is lacking or non existent at the present.

This concept is worth a second look, and benefits the economy, in the large and small sectors.