The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation Leader in Adult Autism Award, named in memory and honor of Danny Fiddle, annually recognizes inspiring leaders in the field of adult autism. This session features this year's winner, Rising Tide Car Wash, which in partnership with the University of Miami, has created Rising Tide U a project bringing hope, as well as critical content about social entrepreneurship, to the autism community. As part of a grant funded initiative to the University of Miami Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (UM CARD), Rising Tide Car Wash and UM CARD have launched a series of initiatives aimed at inspiring the autism community to action. Included among our initiatives was a year long, multi-site workshop tour entitled "Awakening the Autism Entrepreneur." These full day workshops were designed to educate autistic adults, family members, entrepreneurs, and the broader community of stakeholders to understand the intricacies, benefits and challenges of starting an autism enterprise. Additionally, a series of webinars and podcasts were launched to further the knowledge base of those interested in leveraging autism as a competitive business advantage in their communities. Currently, the project team is working to create an online course that will be available to interested parties around the world.

In today's session, presenters will summarize the key points from our workshops, webinars and podcasts, and also share lessons learned along the way. Learner objectives include the following:

1. Participants will learn what it is like to start an autism focused enterprise from entrepreneurs who are actively creating successful businesses in their community.
2. Participants will learn some of the best practices leverage by autism entrepreneurs. Chief among these is recognizing autism as a competitive advantage in the workplace.
3. Participants will learn several key skills necessary for starting a social enterprise, including creating a business model canvas, testing hypotheses, and fundraising.