What Inspired Me to Found Coding Autism and Improve the Lives of Individuals on the Autism Spectrum

As the famous Mark Twain quote says, "the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." When you analyze Mark Twain's quote in further detail, you realize that the latter part of his quote states that one of the most pivotal and important days of one's life is when they discover their true purpose.

As someone who has discovered their true purpose in life, I am an avid believer of this quote. In fact, I remember the exact moment that I came to the realization of what my vocational purpose was in life and my inner torch of ambition being ignited in the process. It was not only a remarkable feeling, but I was beyond confident that I contained the resources, network, intelligence, and drive to go after my purpose with laser focus. During this moment, I felt as if I obtained the true hero powers that Hercules developed when he saved Meg from the depths of the underworld.

Some of you are probably wondering now, what is the purpose that I discovered? What could I possibly be so excited and passionate about? Well, if the title of this article did not give the answer away, I discovered that my true purpose in life was to improve the lifestyles and opportunities of individuals on the autism spectrum through my company Coding Autism.

Before I get into the discovery of my vision with Coding Autism, I would like to take the time to go a little in depth with my personal background and what inspired me to develop such a passion for the venture ahead of me. Here it goes.

In the year of 1994, I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, the milder version of autism, shortly after my older brother Trinity was diagnosed with autism. When I was initially diagnosed, autism was still perceived as a rare condition that was a parent's worse nightmare before research debunked the previous notions of autism. In fact, numerous doctors had told my family that my brother's autism was so severe that they highly doubted that he would be able to speak in his lifetime or live a normal lifestyle without assistance.

Naturally, my parents were petrified after hearing such horrific feedback in regards to my brother. Despite the pessimistic and subjective statements from these doctors, my parents made it their top priority to ensure that my brother received the necessary care in order to live a normal lifestyle. Through a combination of the right assistance of family support, teachers, speech therapists, and a dose of Lenny Kravitz's hit song "Fly Away," Trinity spoke his first words at the age of 7 by singing the lyrics to "Fly Away." From that point on, my parents enrolled Trinity into the traditional public school system with me, where we were both a part of IEP (Individualized Education Program) until high school graduation.

Although I was less severe on the autism spectrum than my brother, he became my personal inspiration of someone to look up to. His comeback story taught me to embrace having Aspergers syndrome and to develop a mentality that despite not being normal, that I could accomplish whatever I put my mind to. This helped me accomplish many things in my young life from being one of the highest ranked USTA tennis players in California and getting into a 4-year university straight out of high school.

It wasn't until my senior year at California Lutheran University (CLU) where I started to put the pieces together in regards to what my true purpose in life was. For one of my capstone classes, I along many other students in the business and entrepreneurship departments at CLU were assigned the task of developing an idea for a start-up and enrolling it into our universities New Venture Competition. As I had grown up with autism and had discussed in the past to my family and friends that one of my passions was to start a business related to the progressive development of individuals on the autism spectrum, I decided to conduct some research on autism to see if there was any way that I could build a business model around this concept.

To say the least, the research that I conducted was beyond eye opening. I came across articles, publications, TED Talks presentations, and much more that discussed the major problems of un/underemployment amongst adults on the autism spectrum despite their eccentric but useful skill sets and personalities such as attention to detail, fascination for repetition and specific tasks, and introversion. Additionally, I came across research that 1.) stated that there was a positive correlation between the characteristics of individuals on the autism spectrum and the successful software engineer and technology guru (Wired), and 2.) that software and technology professions contained the highest amount of job vacancies amongst any other job in the United States while containing average entry level salaries of above $40,000 a year (Glassdoor).

After conducting this research, I was motivated to research further into the reasoning as to why individuals on the autism spectrum were continuing to remain unemployed and underemployed and why companies were not hiring individuals on the autism spectrum. I then discovered that the problem was not that autistic individuals were not employable. In fact, some of the largest companies in existence such as Microsoft, SAP, and Ernst and Young (EY) contained autism hiring initiatives that were so successful that each company ramped up their hiring initiatives for trained individuals on the autism spectrum (Monster). The real problem was that there wasn't any progressive programs, companies, or educational curriculum specifically designed for individuals on the autism spectrum post high school graduation that would help them develop and learn the skill sets necessary to qualify for lucrative career professions with high career growth potential. Due to the lack of these types of programs, over 80% of all adults on the autism spectrum are either unemployed or underemployed (Forbes).

Ultimately, this last segment of research was the driver to what inclined me to develop the idea and business model behind Coding Autism. I then enrolled Coding Autism into my universities New Venture Competition, where I found out that I was selected as a top 5 company to present in front of an audience of over 150 people on April 30th 2016 for a prize of $2500 to be used towards the development of their start-up idea. The moment that I found out my start-up concept was accepted as a top 5 participant to present in front of my university, I realized then and there what my true vocation and purpose was.

With this newly discovered purpose, I felt invincible, confident and important. I awoke a sleeping dragon within the deepest depths of my soul and channeled that energy to carry out the endeavor of creating a more progressive society for individuals on the autism spectrum. Combined with the help of some mentors to refine portions of my business model and concept for Coding Autism, I was able to articulate my vision exceptionally to the crowd and panelists at the CLU New Venture Competition and as a result, I won the competition.

The feeling that I contained when I found out that I won 1st place at the CLU New Venture Competition was indescribable. Not only did the victory prove to be a credible validation of the concept of Coding Autism, but it inspired me to pursue my dream of founding and developing a company that would benefit all individuals on the autism spectrum. From that point on, I have redesigned my priorities in life so that every day I am doing something that propels Coding Autism forward.

I am a firm believer that everyone on this planet has a specific purpose that they were destined to pursue and that in order to discover that specific purpose, you have to actively go through a multitude of life experiences. As an individual on the autism spectrum, I have naturally seen the world through a different lens. I have experienced first hand how despite the assistance of IEP, the traditional education system has placed individuals on the autism spectrum at a disadvantage as well as the different perceptions of autism, both negative and positive, from my peers, community, and prospective employers. I have also experienced first hand how individuals on the autism spectrum such as my brother can thrive in our society if they are provided the necessary resources, opportunities, and environment for them.

What autistic individuals need is a progressive learning and support platform specifically designed to their needs rather than sticking with traditional methods that repeatedly prove to fail. With Coding Autism, I am creating that progressive learning and support platform for individuals on the autism spectrum and flipping the traditional methods on its head.

For those who took the time out of their busy lives to read this article, I hope that my story of founding Coding Autism inspires you to discover your true purpose. If you have not discovered your purpose yet, my advice to you is to try as many things as humanly possible that you are intrigued and passionate about and to read heavily about societal problems that you have an attachment to. The more you are aware of your surroundings and discover the flaws around it, the more likely you are to realize what your purpose in life is. Don't be afraid to take risks or challenge traditional norms, follow your gut, and learn from your life experiences!