PaliHi Alum Hopes to Open Doors for Those on the Autistic Spectrum

By MATTHEW MEYER | Reporter

Palisades Charter High School alum Oliver Thornton is raising funds for the emerging startup Coding Autism, with the mission of making jobs in web development and technology more accessible to those on the autistic spectrum.

Helmed by Thornton and co-founder Austen Weinhart, Coding Autism is raising capital to launch its first program: The ASPIRE Web Development Immersive—a 15-week, full-time course where students would learn the essential skills necessary to earn a position as an entry-level web developer.

It’s a deeply personal mission for both Thornton and Weinhart—Thornton has been diagnosed with a form of ASD himself, and both founders have family members and loved ones who are on the spectrum.

They’ve seen firsthand the challenges that adults with autism face when entering the workforce; statistics indicate that up to 80 percent of this population is un- or underemployed.

The idea to address this problem through targeted job training originated while Thornton was a student at Cal Lutheran. He told the Palisadian-Post that developing an autism-related start-up was already an interest—when he entered a university contest for hypothetical ventures and won with a rudimentary version of Coding Autism, he started to treat the start-up as a real possibility.

That’s when he got in touch with Weinhart, a life-long friend. After starting a career in PR, the UC Berkeley grad had recently taken a web development boot camp at General Assembly in Santa Monica, landing a job in the field shortly after. The two began to shape what would become Coding Autism—and laid the framework for their first course.

The immersive ASPIRE program would give students training in both “front-end” and “back-end” development, and leave them with a portfolio of web applications that could help them land their first job.

Why web development? Thornton told the Post that it’s well suited for the unique strengths and work styles of those on the autistic spectrum. Generally speaking, he said, they possess intrinsic characteristics like attention to detail, fascination with repetitive tasks and introversion that all suit the field.

“It aligns with their skill-sets,” Thornton explained, “so that an individual with autism can be comfortable with their role.”

The class sizes would also be small (15 students or less), and have an on-site occupational therapist to help tailor each lesson to the unique needs of their particular students.

To make the classes a reality, Thornton and Weinhart need to raise funds for their for-profit, social enterprise.

They’ve raised about $18,000 of their $50,000 goal, with a campaign on startsomegood.com, under the name Coding Autism. That campaign will last until April 30. In the meantime, they’re attracting private equity interest as well.

It’s a challenging process, and the co-founders’ first foray in crowdfunding and building a company. But they’ve laid the groundwork for a successful service and they’re driven by a passion for their field—with a personal connection that drives the importance of their work home.