UMD Neurodiversity Experts Part of $8M Project with Leading Disability Employer
The team will seek to geographically expand Melwood’s abitlIT program, and study its impact on trainees and employer partners
Two of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences’ neurodiversity experts have been tapped to help Melwood, one of the largest employers of people with disabilities in the country, execute a five-year, $8 million project.
A grant from the Department of Education will help fund roughly 80% of the costs required to expand Melwood’s “AbilIT Across America: Advancing Neurodiversity in the Workplace” program—a skills-based training program that leverages the untapped potential and talent of neurodivergent people for careers in information technology and cybersecurity—to sites outside of the DMV, starting with Hampton Roads, Virginia and Oregon. Approximately $2 million of the program’s expenses will be covered by Melwood donors and operating funds.
There is a strong and growing desire among employers to find individuals with cybersecurity skills. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2024, just 49.2% of representatives from low-revenue organizations said that they “have the skills needed to respond to and recover from a cyberattack” in 2024, compared to 94.7% who said the same in 2022. Representatives from high- and medium-revenue organizations also expressed decreased confidence in 2024, though to a less significant degree, dropping from 88.3% in 2022 to 82.1% in 2024.
“The abilIT program seeks to help a population that is either unemployed or underemployed, and help federal and private agencies fill these positions with qualified individuals,” explained Kathy Dow-Burger, the Friedman Family Director of Neurodiversity and Autism Transition Services (NATS) in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences.
Dow-Burger and Nancy Forsythe, a disability inclusion specialist in BSOS’ Feller Center for Advising and Career Planning, have been helping Melwood connect with area employers and neurodivergent individuals—including some students from UMD—for years. They will continue to make connections between Melwood and employers and potential program participants in their role in the new project.
“This public-private partnership will enable us to implement a strategy to solve national labor shortages in the IT and tech industry while strengthening the ability of regional nonprofits to provide critically needed programming to advance careers for people with disabilities,” said Melwood President and CEO Larysa Kautz. "We are thrilled to have the University of Maryland, and others, as important partners on this project."
Nancy and Kathy will also lend their support to another part of the project that is being led by Dr. Hala Annabi from the University of Washington. This part of the project will involve using surveys and observations to measure participants’ satisfaction with the program and workplace, and employers’ assessment of how the program is impacting their workplace.
“One of the core tenets of the neurodiversity at work movement is making sure that the workplace understands how neurodiversity and inclusion serves not only the individuals who are neurodiverse, but also the entire workplace,” said Forsythe. “But, success is measured by several different things, and we simply need to gather more data; we are investigating a number of factors, from the program participant side, and the employer side too.”
Dow-Burger is hopeful that this project will ultimately provide more opportunities for individuals with neurodiverse needs, and for UMD to continue to make strides in the field.
“At the conclusion of this project, I want to be able to see that we can customize education and training for those individuals who fall through the cracks,” said Dow-Burger. “I’d also like to have people recognize that the University of Maryland is playing a leading role in the neurodiversity space, as being a part of larger grants like this gives us the opportunity to showcase our expertise in the employment, research, and outreach parts of the neurodiversity at work movement.”
The photo of Nancy Forsythe (L) and Kathy Dow-Burger (R) is by Tom Bacho.
Published on Wed, Oct 16, 2024 - 3:22PM