SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Many teenagers are pounding the pavement looking for a summer job right now, but Alex Weiner already has one lined up.
Through an innovative program in the Scottsdale Unified School District, Alex, an 18-year-old student who has autism, has accrued experience in carpentry, landscaping and building maintenance - even working with power tools.
"He's earned that job," said John Muir, the district's director of building services, who launched the Team 7 program and hired Alex to work for the district this summer.
Job training before graduation is crucial. People with autism spectrum disorders have an unemployment rate of 90 percent, according to the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center.
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