Nonprofit foundation Fly Brave is in the process of opening an employment training center for autistic adults at the end of the year after raising enough money.
A Sacramento mother, Vanessa Bieker, started the foundation after her son aged out of the school system and had trouble finding a job.
"My son John is nonverbal, but he's very physically capable and he understands the world around him. Although he's nonverbal, he still communicates in his own way and society sometimes deems him as unable yet he has so much to offer," Bieker said.
Bieker's son John now has a job as a landscaper. She also has about a dozen autistic adults who help run the organization through website design and budgeting.
Some of the ways they raise money is through events and selling jewelry and clothes online through Etsy.
"What we would do is sit down with them and find out what they want to do. The difference between this and employment training program is that we want to tap to each individual's interests and talents and team them up with the job that suits them," Bieker said. "Our adults with autism are brilliant. They're really good at technology and they're very creative."
Bieker currently serves 100 families and hopes the jobs can help many of the autistic adults become independent.
"You have resolve and you look at your child think ‘I need to build a life for you, I need to find a way for you,’" Bieker said.