As Megan Hendrickson finishes her graduation remarks, her already-shaky voice gives way to a flood of tears. Before she can cross the stage and return to her chair, a classmate folds her into a warm hug. Within seconds, 12 students are huddled in a clump, arms wrapped around one another, as they say farewell to a place they’ve come to call home.
The ceremony took place at Meristem school, in the Sacramento suburb of Fair Oaks, where adults with autism and other intellectual disabilities learn to work with others, live independently, overcome social challenges and prepare to find jobs.
With thousands of autistic children reaching adulthood each year and few programs designed to prepare them for the next step, the school offers a new model for driving this historically underemployed group into the workforce.
The Meristem model started in the United Kingdom, and there’s only one campus in the United States. It welcomed its inaugural class in fall of 2015, and sent them off into the world last Friday.
On the 13-acre campus, students take courses in metal work, carpentry, culinary arts, filmmaking and textiles, to name a few. Classes are held in cozy pastel cottages or in the surrounding orchards and fields. There are few desks and blackboards; students are encouraged to work with their hands.
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