How It Works

U Can Employ™ (UCE) equips companies with the essential tools and strategies for embedding autism inclusion into the company’s fabric. We will lead you through our roadmap, ensuring that your business can successfully recruit, hire, onboard, support, and retain autistic employees.

Our services are designed to adapt to your business needs. UCE provides your business with expert guidance, professional training videos, and on-site coaching for added support, if needed. As a member, you will also receive access to a comprehensive manual, which highlights the UCE roadmap. This ensures you have all the resources needed to use our services effectively, even beyond your membership period.

See Membership Plans below for more details.

How to Become an Autism Inclusive Employer: A Roadmap

Through our suite of tools, we guide you through a roadmap for employer to utilize. Here’s a preview of the steps that we focus on:

Step 1:

Advantages of Hiring Employees With Autism

Learn how your business can access tax benefits, increase retention rates, and create the inclusive culture and measurable environmental, social, and governance
(ESG) framework that today’s buyers and potential employees expect.

Step 2:

Understanding Autism

Understanding Autism: Some 5.4 million adults in America have autism. We can help you learn more about the characteristics of autism and prepare you to interact more efficiently with employees with autism.

Step 3:

Plan for Inclusivity

You’re ready to match employees to the right position and, when necessary, carve out roles that will utilize the strengths of employees with autism.

Step 4:

Understanding Workplace Accommodations

Workplace accommodations are typically low-cost and positively impact the entire workplace. We help you identify which accommodations are needed and understand tax deduction or rebate programs available.

Step 5:

Best Practices -- Recruiting

We show you where and how to appeal to candidates with autism and connect you with key players in the autism community, including the global Els for Autism®️ Foundation.

Step 6:

Best Practices -- Interviewing

Our interview strategies help you create a structured interaction that provides innovative ways for candidates to demonstrate skills so that you can more accurately gauge each candidate’s fit.

Step 7:

Best Practices -- Onboarding

Comprehensive and well-planned onboarding is a key factor in ensuring a successful transition for your newly hired team members. Our Employer Toolkit makes it easier for you to set up your new employees for success.

Step 8:

Best Practices -- Retaining

Our Employer Toolkit and expert consultants give you specific steps and tools for retaining employees with autism. These tools include visual schedules, task analysis, and mentoring.

Membership Plans

Digital Resources

FREE!
  • Monthly articles and newsletter with expert tips, strategies, and insights
  • Links to additional resources
Get Started
Current Plan
Current Plan
Current Plan

Introductory

$99 a month
30-days (one-time fee)
  • Access to eCourses for a 30-day period
  • Article archives and newsletter with expert tips, strategies, and insights
  • Initial access to employer toolkit with downloadable supports for employers

Standard

$79 a month
(annual commitment)
  • Access to eCourses for one calendar year
  • Full access to employer toolkit with downloadable supports and resources for employers
  • 2 monthly text chats with a UCE consultant
  • 4 online one-on-one sessions and 2 online group networking sessions with a UCE consultant and fellow members per year
  • A la carte services available at a discounted rate

Elite

Contact us for a customized program design and pricing

Services may include but are not limited to:

  • All services and resources of previous tiers
  • Access to and guidance through the UCE manual
  • Review of your company’s human resources policies
    and practices
  • In-person visits to your company by one of our expert UCE consultants
  • Virtual weekly meetings with one of our experienced UCE consultants

Not sure which plan best meets your needs? We can help.

A La Carte Service Options

Not ready for a membership? We have options for businesses looking for a la carte services. Whether a company is looking for a one-time training, a site visit, or help updating internal policies, our services allow them to choose the specific support they need without a long-term commitment. This approach makes it easier for each company to engage with our mission and take meaningful steps towards autism inclusion. We can cater any service to your company and can create a new service to help you in your specific needs. Some a la carte options that we offer include: 

Autism Inclusion Training Sessions: Interactive, customized workshops designed to educate and empower your organization at every level—from executives to entry-level staff. Formats can include an hour professional development training, half-day or full-day workshops, multi-sessional learnings, etc. These can be catered to a unique department (employee resource groups, leadership teams, human resources team members, or mentorship groups). Why does it matters? Most companies want to “do better” with inclusion—but internal teams often don’t have the lived experience or specialized training to build effective autism-informed strategies. 
Autism & Employment Consultation Sessions: personalized coaching sessions that equip companies with the tools to support autistic employees with confidence, clarity, and care. Bringing in outside autism experts provides fresh perspective, insights rooted in lived experience through working with adults with autism, credibility and accountability in your inclusion goals, troubleshooting for solutions for current staff, real-world strategies beyond textbook theory, comfort and validation for autistic employees who may feel unseen. Why does it matter? even the most well-intentioned managers can struggle to support autistic employees without proper tools. Traditional leadership advice often emphasizes "soft skills" or interpersonal savvy that may not apply equally across disabilities. A single conversation can either alienate or empower an autistic employee. Consultation gives your managers and staff the ability to choose the latter—consistently.
Company Document Review: Our autism experts will help reframe your human resources documents to be inclusive, transparent, and accessible. We help reframe your materials to prioritize skills, clarity, and inclusion—so your best candidates and employees aren’t left out due to outdated standards. Materials can include annual performance review templates, interview forms and questions, job descriptions, accommodation requests and processes, employee handbooks, onboarding documents, etc. Why does it matter? Many of these documents were created without autistic experiences in mind. Traditional performance reviews often place a heavy focus on social traits (like eye contact, small talk, or group participation) that can unfairly disadvantage autistic individuals—even when their work performance is exceptional. Similarly, interview questions that rely on abstract thinking or cultural “fit” can rule out candidates who are highly qualified but process or communicate differently. 
Workplace Environmental & Autism Inclusivity Review: We evaluate your workplace (onsite or virtual) to identify potential sensory and physical barriers for employees with autism, offering practical recommendations for improvement. Included elements are sensory reviews and accessibility and wayfinding audits. A staff training can also occur during this review. All suggestions can be written into a report for your company's future use. Why does it matter? Many autistic employees experience sensory sensitivities that impact focus, comfort, and retention. A simple lighting fix or sound-buffering strategy can make a huge difference in creating an inclusive space. An external review from an autism expert may also reveal easy solutions to workplace inclusion for all employees. 
Autism Inclusive Toolkit Creation: custom-built, practical tools designed to support autistic employees and help your team implement inclusive practices with confidence—day to day, not just during trainings. These can be customized per role, employee, and task. The toolkit can include visual schedules, task breakdowns, "how to support me" profiles, communication preference cards, social scrips for workplace scenarios, workplace maps, accommodation menus, etc. Why does it matter? Inclusive workplaces aren’t built from policy alone—they’re built from day-to-day tools that help everyone navigate work successfully. For autistic employees, these resources can reduce ambiguity and anxiety, encourage independence and proactivity, prevent miscommunication before it happens, and offer dignity and agency in how support is provided. When inclusion is practical, it becomes sustainable. 

Contact us at ucanemploy@elsforautism.org for more menu items and to discuss the right option for your company. For a quote or call to discuss further, please contact the UCE Project Manager at katie.cappelen@elsforautism.org.