May 31, 2023 | Anna
by Don Lewis
As a young adult, you likely spend a lot of time thinking about what you want to do with your professional life. With so many options to choose from, how do you pick one path? If you have the entrepreneurial spirit, a knack for leadership, and good problem-solving skills, you might thrive in a business role. Plus, a career in business is an excellent choice for people with disabilities. Want to learn more? Keep reading for tips from Autism Hero Awards to help you plan your career in business!
Why Consider a Career in Business?
A career in business offers several benefits to young people with disabilities. As Prospects explains, a business career offers a wide variety of specialisations, from accounting to management. You should be able to find a specialisation that aligns with your interests, skills, and level of ability. What’s more, most of these jobs can be done remotely! If you require certain adaptive equipment to work at a computer or if your disability makes commuting a challenge, the opportunity to work remotely could make your career a lot more accessible.
Beyond these perks, pursuing a career in business will help you learn advanced skills that are easily transferable to other industries. The skills you will learn in school are in high demand by employers, even in areas outside of business. As a result, you’ll still be able to put your education to good use even if you decide that business isn’t right for you.
Map Your Education Path
Your education requirements will depend on the business specialisation you choose. Your degree specialisation options include:
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Accounting
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Finance
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Healthcare Management
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Marketing
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Human Resources
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Public Administration
Regardless of the specialisation you choose, you’ll want to enrol in a business degree program. A bachelor’s degree typically takes four years to complete. This is likely all you’ll need for an entry-level position, but you may want to go back and continue your education in the future. Keep in mind that online programs may be more accessible to you depending on your disability.
Get Your First Job
Once you’ve earned that degree, it’s time to land your first job. The professional networking site, LinkedIn, is great for finding prospective job opportunities. At the very least, LinkedIn is a fantastic platform for connecting with other professionals in your chosen business field. Create a profile on LinkedIn with a professional photo, a compelling headline, and an engaging description of who you are and what you do best. Avoid the mistake of treating LinkedIn like Twitter or Instagram; instead, keep your posts professional, positive, and honest.
Although an online profile is a great way to network, many employers still want to see a traditional resume from job applicants. Fortunately, there are great free templates that you can download and modify to meet your needs. Once you are done, convert your file to a PDF to ensure it is stable and appears exactly the way you want. And don’t worry. If you need to alter file types, a jpeg to PDF conversion tool is easy and free to use.
Work Your Way up the Ladder
Most people pursue a career in business with the intention of climbing the corporate ladder and eventually filling a management position. To do this, you’ll need to set career goals. That includes both long- and short-term goals, as well as breaking down your ultimate goals into bite-sized pieces that are easier and faster to achieve. Use these goals to map out a plan. Your strategy might involve networking, going back to school, or taking on more leadership roles in your current position.
Advocate for Your Rights and Needs
If you have a disability, it’s important that you advocate for your needs as an employee. Don’t be afraid to request the accommodations you need to do your job well. This is your right! While more and more employers are making an effort towards workplace equality, make sure you know your legal rights so you can stand up for yourself in a worst-case scenario.
Take Steps Towards Your Career
When it’s time to start thinking about your professional goals, consider a career in business! Take a look at your degree options, set up a profile on LinkedIn, and map out your long-term career goals. With a little effort, you’ll land your first entry-level business job in no time!
Autism Hero Awards is proud to highlight excellence in the world of autism. If you have any questions, please email lisa.robins@annakennedyonline.com.
May 30, 2023 | Anna
North East-based charity, Daisy Chain is celebrating following a sell-out night of entertainment, inclusivity and celebration at the Autism’s Got Talent Roadshow 2023, attended by over 500 people at The Stockton Globe.
The organisation teamed up with Anna Kennedy OBE to shine a spotlight on the talents of autistic people and featured spectacular performances including ‘The Mind Mangler’ comedy sketch, a non-speaking adult who loves to sing, and a 12-year-old dancer who was wheelchair bound until she was 9 and has battled to be accepted into a dance school.
CEO Neeraj Sharma said: “The performances on the night were exceptional, and I’m immensely grateful for everyone who made it possible, including Anna Kennedy and Tees Valley Community Foundation.
“The show gave autistic individuals the opportunity to have a platform to shine in an inclusive and supportive environment, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as the audience was blown away by the extent of the talent. More money needs to be injected into the performing arts sector to create future events like this and make them part of the annual entertainment calendar.”
Anna Kennedy OBE said: “I’m so proud to once again have brought the Autism’s Got Talent Roadshow to the North East. It means more than you can ever know since I was born in Middlesbrough.
“As a charity supporting autistic children and adults, we aim to continue to build Autism’s Got Talent year by year and we want all those involved to have fun, do what they love, make friends and just be themselves. This is one night that is all about the performers creating memories and saying – yes, I did it!”
Dylan Pitt, who showcased his amazing singing voice at the live show said: “Autism’s Got Talent was a phenomenal experience and I loved every second of it! I’m used to only ever singing to my Nana in the living room so the opportunity to perform on such a big stage in front of so many people was amazing.
“Thank you to Daisy Chain and Anna Kennedy – you have made my dreams come true!”
Autism charity Anna Kennedy Online hosts Autism’s Got Talent every year in London and has done for the last 12 years.
Daisy Chain is passionate about supporting autistic and neurodivergent children, young people, adults and families and shining a light on neurodivergent talent through its performing arts program.
Act One
The Chains
The Chains was formed in 2021 by attendees of the Daisy Chain Wellbeing service. The band began by performing covers of various songs at live events such as open days, Christmas festivals and much more. The band meets regularly and always have fun whether they’re learning new songs or practising old favourites (although we’ve been told never again to request ‘Don’t Stop Believing’). Recently The Chains have been working together to write an original song, which has come together wonderfully so far, and they hope to record and release it in the near future!
Charlie Conway
Charlie is 11 years old and lives in West Yorkshire. Charlie loves to sing and this was only discovered by pure chance whilst on holiday at age 8, where he asked to sing in the talent show, he sang Bohemian Rhapsody, blew everyone away and won the competition. Since then, his love for singing has grown and he now attends ‘City Sounds Studios’ for singing lessons with Danny Yates who is amazing with him and has helped him gain his graded exams with a distinction.
Ruby Johnson
Ruby is 14 years old from Hartlepool and she loves singing and drawing. Ruby has been part of daisy chain since 2022, she loves going on a Saturday to do her activities and has made some lovely friends.
Ruby loves Ru Paul Drag Race and has been to see all her favourite drag queens who have even been on this stage the Stockton Globe so she says it’s a privilege to perform on the same stage as her idols. She is looking forward to singing for you tonight but unfortunately had a little accident so will be sitting down to perform.
Martin Finn
Martin has severe Autism and he is non verbal. Martin sang at the 1st ever Autism’s got Talent in London in 2012 which was an absolutely amazing night. Since then Martin has gone on to sing at many charity functions and Irish clubs. Music is Martin’s life, he lives for music and it helps him relax.
Martin has also released his own Country/ Irish CD called One in a Million.
He has performed for a few of the AGT roadshow’s before in Middlesbrough and Liverpool which Martin really enjoyed.
Dylan Pitt
Dylan is 20 years old from Stockton on Tees and he just loves to sing!
Singing is his passion and always has been from when he was a young boy. Dylan is used to singing in his bedroom to his nana but is excited that he gets his big break tonight singing on a bigger stage!
Dylan hopes his performance makes people feel happy and shows people not to stop following there dreams as that’s what’s got him here today!
Fred Tennant
Fred has been attending adult groups at Daisy Chain for nearly a year now and can’t wait to perform in front of his family and friends plus his fellow Daisy Chainers.
55 year old Fred will be singing a song that he says sums up his life ‘Love like This’ by Lauren Daigle.
Fred is very passionate about celebrating the person he is and encourages others to do the same.
Alanna Barry
Alanna is a ray of sunshine and she lights up a room. Her determination and strength has helped her break down so many barriers and overcome many obstacles. Her journey has not been easy. Alanna is 14 years old. Not only does Alanna have autism she has many other battles, and an endless list of labels including Perthes Disease which meant she had restricted mobility spending many years not being able to play like other children. Alanna then fell in love with music and dance, it’s where she can truly be herself to feel free to be happy
Marcus Mason Williams
“Marcus is delighted to be back on stage. He very much enjoyed performing in Liverpool with Autism Got Talent in late 2018. He is a long standing member of Birmingham Rock School and will be performing at the Bournville Festival in June. In August, he and fellow band member, Tom will be performing their first gig at a local wine bar in South Birmingham. They are called the Bright Lights.
Marcus is an entrepreneur. He set up his digital art business, CoolArt2021at the beginning of 2021. Last year he published his first illustrated novel called Zooland A Sign of Hope – available on Amazon!
Beverley School Choir
When the Beverley School Community first started it’s choir, some said that autistic young people would never be able to sing together successfully.. How wrong they were! The pupils and choir leaders rose to the challenge and have since performed in various settings. A specialist school for children and young people with Autism, they were the first school in the North East to be awarded the prestigious Platinum Sing up Award They are excited to share their passion and love for music.
Follow annakennedyonline.com to hear about the rest of our AGT Roadshow performers, later this week.
May 30, 2023 | Anna
via MyLondon
Prince Reid wants to be an inspiration to his community as well as make an impact on the borough he has called home his entire life
A 22-year-old man from Croydon wants to be a face in the streets that people may not necessarily associate with being a police officer. Prince Reid was born and raised in the area and growing up he never felt he saw a policeman that looked like him.
Croydon was considered the knife capital of London a few years ago and recently 22-year-old Lucas Sutton was stabbed to death on Pawsons Road. Prince says he has seen how easy it is for someone to fall into the wrong crowd and end up on the wrong path.
He told MyLondon what inspired him to become a police officer. “I wanted to always separate myself from those who wanted to go into gang life and believe in myself and try to make my family proud”, he said. “If I decided to make friends with everyone around me growing up, I wouldn’t be a police officer today. Croydon is known to be rough and I want to try to make a change.
“I didn’t always actually want to be one [a police officer] but it came out of interest in the grad scheme and making the community better with all that is going wrong with Croydon. I wanted to at least try and make a difference. I wanted to experience what can be done and how an impact could be made. I wanted to be someone that people could see in the police that I didn’t see when I was growing up.”
Prince signed up for the Police Now Graduate Scheme which gives people the opportunity to join their neighbourhood policing team and try to build relationships within the community. Being able to build relationships in the community is something Prince has found enjoyable about the job.
He said: “The grad scheme aims to try to reduce and impact crime in the neighbourhood. I’ve definitely got mixed reactions from the community. I’ve had a few young people say I’m too young to do this or ‘You’re really joining the police? There’s not a lot of Black people in the police’. You get people thinking that.
“But then I get some great reactions. Elderly people speaking to me about Windrush and they will say they’re proud to see me here and that they fought for me to be in this position’. That inspires me and makes me grateful for the position I am in. Without them, they paved the way and I most likely wouldn’t have been here and I’m thankful I get to speak to them”, Prince continued.
In his nine months working as a police officer so far, Prince has worked at the King’s Coronation as well as the London Marathon. Prince is autistic and the hecticness and changing schedules is something he finds difficult to manage. He is someone that prefers structure but he finds the varying nature of his schedule being something he has found hard to adapt to.
Prince is also an athlete and he recently ran at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in the men’s 400m T20. His ability to juggle his various responsibilities is aided by his status as one of 50 athletes supported by a partnership between SportsAid and Pitching In, a multimillion-pound grassroots sports programme established by Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral.
Prince said; “I had two shifts in relation to the coronation. One was a night shift the day before the coronation and [then] I was stewarding there from around 10pm to 7am in the morning. I had a shift the same day and was supposed to have a rest day the day after that.
“SportsAid has helped massively because there’s a lot of training and a lot of equipment that can be useful in developing me as an athlete. It has helped in getting to that point of competing without concentrating solely on ‘How am I going to finance this? How am I going to do this?’
“I’m ultimately grateful to be in the position I am, it is a tough lifestyle. I’m going to see what it’s like over the next two years before I make a firm decision on what I want to do with my future.”
Prince Reid was one of our Autism Hero Award finalists in 2018. There’s still time to nominate your Autism Hero for 2023
May 27, 2023 | Anna
May’s edition of All Things Autism in Essex saw Aston and regular contributor Anna Kennedy OBE, founder of autism charity Annakennedyonline highlight the Autism’s Got Talent roadshow in Teeside by speaking to some of the performers and also spoke about the latest news from the autism community as well as the charity Annakennedyonline.
The first of Aston and Anna’s guests was Beth Miller.
The second of Aston and Anna’s guests was Fred Tennant.
Anna had this to say after the show:
“Another great show with Aston talking ‘All things Autism in Essex’ and feedback from the Autism’s got Talent Roadshow at The Stockton Globe Theatre.
“We had 2 of the performers talking about their experience and still buzzing from the show.
“Our first guest Beth Miller a trained singer from Guisborough with over 20 years of experience. Beth was overjoyed to have been asked by Bobby Latheron a song writer and author on the autism spectrum. Bobby has written a book ‘My world in my Words’ available on Amazon . Beth shared she had a wonderful experience singing on the show and was blown away by all the performers especially Martin Finn.
“Our second guest was Fred Tennant who has been attending Daisy Chain for a year now and said he had a fantastic experience performing in front of friends and family. 55-year-old Fred sang a song that he shared sums up his love of life ‘Love like this’ by Lauren Daigle. There wasn’t a dry eye in the theatre.
“Please see press release about the show in The London Post.
“We are still looking for performers for our AGT in London and Autism Hero Awards . Please check out information on the charity website.
www.annakennedyonline.com
“Enjoy your Bank Holiday Weekend All. See you next month.”
All Things Autism in Essex will return in June.
May 26, 2023 | Anna
via London Post
North East-based charity, Daisy Chain is celebrating following a sell-out night of entertainment, inclusivity and celebration at the Autism’s Got Talent Roadshow 2023, attended by over 500 people at The Stockton Globe.
The organisation teamed up with Anna Kennedy OBE to shine a spotlight on the talents of autistic people and featured spectacular performances including ‘The Mind Mangler’ comedy sketch, a non-speaking adult who loves to sing, and a 12-year-old dancer who was wheelchair bound until she was 9 and has battled to be accepted into a dance school.
CEO Neeraj Sharma said: “The performances on the night were exceptional, and I’m immensely grateful for everyone who made it possible, including Anna Kennedy and Tees Valley Community Foundation.
“The show gave autistic individuals the opportunity to have a platform to shine in an inclusive and supportive environment, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as the audience was blown away by the extent of the talent. More money needs to be injected into the performing arts sector to create future events like this and make them part of the annual entertainment calendar.”
Anna Kennedy OBE said: “I’m so proud to once again have brought the Autism’s Got Talent Roadshow to the North East. It means more than you can ever know since I was born in Middlesbrough.
“As a charity supporting autistic children and adults, we aim to continue to build Autism’s Got Talent year by year and we want all those involved to have fun, do what they love, make friends and just be themselves. This is one night that is all about the performers creating memories and saying – yes, I did it!”
Dylan Pitt, who showcased his amazing singing voice at the live show said: “Autism’s Got Talent was a phenomenal experience and I loved every second of it! I’m used to only ever singing to my Nana in the living room so the opportunity to perform on such a big stage in front of so many people was amazing.
“Thank you to Daisy Chain and Anna Kennedy – you have made my dreams come true!”
Autism charity Anna Kennedy Online hosts Autism’s Got Talent every year in London and has done for the last 12 years.
Daisy Chain is passionate about supporting autistic and neurodivergent children, young people, adults and families and shining a light on neurodivergent talent through its performing arts program.
May 24, 2023 | Anna
Marcus Mason-William, who performed in the Autism’s Got Talent Roadshow in 2018, talks about his digital art business CoolArt2021 to the panel of First Steps judges. Marcus went on to win the pilot program
I set up my CoolArt2021 digital art business in 2021, to sell cards and merchandise, featuring my artwork, which is inspired by my passion for wildlife and nature. My parents support me with my business.
I design and sell greetings card and Christmas card collections via my website and some via thortful.com. I also design and sell bespoke E-Cards/Certificates.
My website also offers a range of products, featuring my designs, using 2 fulfilment companies: Printful and Order A Print.
The first year of trading exceeded my business plan agreed with the DWP under the IPES / New Enterprise Allowance programmes.
My customers include Special Olympics of GB, DFN Project SEARCH, Genius Within, family, friends and their contacts. I am active on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
As Anna knows I love performing (performed at AGT in Liverpool). My longer term ambition is to be a story teller / animator and one day even to make a movie.
I have a way with children and can communicate with them as I understand how they feel when adults normally communicate with them.
I have written a number of children’s stories: e.g. Ugly Duckling and the Rat and the Little Reindeer. I am currently writing a story about a football-loving zebra named Milo and another called the Horse and the Dragon.
I had introductory animation training from Exceptional Minds in Los Angeles, USA (an autism specialist organisation). I subscribe to the Adobe Creative Cloud products. I converted The Little Reindeer story to storyboards and added an audio track playing the various parts and shared this on Instagram before Christmas last year.
Marcus Mason-Williams
It was amazing to see Marcus’s face light up and change his world! He was truly deserving the investment he won and I am trilled to support such a passionate and driven individual. Supporting people with Autism is my passion as I wasn’t proved the same, so understand why it’s so important…
The talent was inspiring and I deeply felt the courage that has gone into the performers appearing so confident and professional…Huge congratulations to everybody who supported and made the event an extreme success!
Ben Pearson
It was a huge honour to be a judge for first steps pilot .
To meet Marcus and share his passion for business and change making was exciting and refreshing .
Marcus is a true entrepreneur with a huge sense for moral justice and doing the right thing with confidence and passion , sharing and collaborating with others to uplift them is an endearing quality .
Marcus is able to celebrate his neurodiversity and share his skills through his artwork and energy and drive .
First steps provides an Opportunity to receive mentoring and I’m very glad Marcus won because I think this is the very beginning of something very special .
Kellie Barker
We will keep everyone updated via the charity website on Marcus progress throughout the year.
