First Ascent

By the end of the program, participants and their parent/coaches will achieve the following transformative outcomes:

1. Understanding Strengths and Unique Value
You will gain clarity about your strengths and unique skills, and be empowered to confidently articulate the value you can bring to social and work environments. 

2. Work Pathway Alignment
You will select an ideal work pathway that aligns with your interests, abilities, and work preferences, ensuring the greatest likelihood of both satisfaction and success in your chosen path.

3. Workplace Awareness
You will develop a clear understanding of your ideal work environment, including social communication needs, organizational structure, and optimal levels of work stimuli.

4. Route Planning
You will develop a detailed step-by-step plan to achieve your ideal work pathway, and be equipped with actionable strategies to reach your goals.

5. A Strengths-Based Perspective
Most importantly, you will gain a renewed perspective of “who you are,” viewing the youself through a new and refreshing strengths-based lens that highlights your potential and celebrates your individuality.

This program is designed for older teens and young adults, who are mildly/moderately impacted by autism, and their parents (or trusted mentors). 

In general, participants may:

• Display milder characteristics of autism
• Have average to above-average cognitive abilities
• Excel academically and functionally but still face challenges with social interaction, communication, executive functioning (e.g., planning, organization, emotional regulation), and sensory processing.

More specifically, this can include: 

• People with autism who want to find a fulfilling career aligned with their strengths and passions.
• Young adults (ages 17–27) moderately impacted by autism, ready to take the next step in their professional journey.
• College students who are unsure of their direction and seeking clarity about their path forward.
• Adults already in the workplace who have encountered challenges and are looking to realign with a professional path that suits them better.
• High school seniors or recent graduates who are exploring their first professional step and need a structured plan to achieve their goals.

If you’re unsure whether the program is right for you, please get in touch! 

The program is offered virtually. Each lesson consists of one or two brief videos (10-15 minutes each) covering a key topic or activity; many include a brief checkpoint quiz for comprehension and/or application assignments.

Parents/mentors will meet weekly in a live session to discuss the lesson material, assignment(s), support strategies, and topics relevant to parents.

Young adult participants will work with their parent/mentor to complete the week’s lesson assignment(s), before attending a weekly all-participant live session to share and discuss their work. 

Finally, you will use the Personal AI Sherpa and Personal Dashboard components to maximize your success and learning in each module, and learn to use the AI Sherpa for ongoing support. 

To successfully complete this program, you’ll need: 

• A dedicated parent or mentor able to commit to completing modules with you and providing feedback 
• Reliable computer and Internet access 
• Approximately 2-3 hours each week to devote to course materials and meetings
• Access to your AI Sherpa — a tool we provide you upon enrollment in the program

Below is a sample weekly schedule. Please note that the weekly schedule may change between each program cohort.