{"625706":{"#nid":"625706","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Startup Connects Job Seekers with Autism to New Opportunities","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EApplying for jobs can be one of the biggest challenges for people with autism. Disclosing a disorder to an employer is difficult, but sometimes even the interview is daunting. But a new app called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.axisability.net\/mentra\u0022\u003EMentra\u003C\/a\u003E could make the process a lot easier.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMentra pairs autistic people with students not on the spectrum to help them navigate the job hunt. Once the algorithm matches a team, they can meet and develop a mentorship together.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The goal of Mentra is to help autistic individuals find meaningful employment, and for mentors to cultivate a friendship with someone who might have a different perspective,\u0026rdquo; said fourth-year computational media student \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.axisability.net\/mentra\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJhillika Kumar\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, the founder of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.axisability.net\/\u0022\u003EAxisAbility\u003C\/a\u003E, the startup behind the app.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFinding Technology for Autism\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Kumar, the work has a personal connection: Her older brother, Vikram, has nonverbal autism. She noticed that when Vikram got an iPad when they were kids, everything changed for him.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;It was so intuitive and allowed him to meaningfully and independently interact with the world,\u0026rdquo; she said. \u0026ldquo;I realized this is a form of using technology to empower people in a different way than we think.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EVikram\u0026rsquo;s use of the iPad got Kumar interested in user interaction design. She was attracted to Georgia Tech because of its unique computational media degree that combines design and computer science.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;One thing this degree really taught me is that we need to work side-by-side with our users so we\u0026rsquo;re not just designing what\u0026rsquo;s in our heads, but we\u0026rsquo;re actually getting feedback at every point,\u0026rdquo; Kumar said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearching Autism and Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EVikram\u0026rsquo;s experience with the iPad was direct feedback, but there isn\u0026rsquo;t any quantifiable research right now on why using technology to communicate works so well for many people with autism. Kumar\u0026rsquo;s desire to prove this that treatment was effective lead her to working with Regents\u0026rsquo; Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ubicomp.cc.gatech.edu\/gregory-d-abowd\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGregory Abowd\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ic.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Interactive Computing\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAbowd \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/content\/single-observation-autism-research-blooms-georgia-tech\u0022\u003Espearheaded\u003C\/a\u003E Tech\u0026rsquo;s presence in the autism and technology research field after he noticed he could start to see his son presenting signs of autism in a family home video before he even got diagnosed. In the years since, this initial observation has led a network of researchers and labs to study all aspects of autism and technology, such as \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ic.gatech.edu\/developing-new-microscope-autism-research-georgia-techs-school-interactive-computing\u0022\u003Emapping behaviors\u003C\/a\u003E to diagnose the disorder.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E[RELATED: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ic.gatech.edu\/developing-new-microscope-autism-research-georgia-techs-school-interactive-computing\u0022\u003EDeveloping a \u0026#39;New Microscope\u0026#39; for Autism Research in Georgia Tech\u0026#39;s School of Interactive Computing\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen Kumar met Abowd, though, he told her one of the main problems people with autism face isn\u0026rsquo;t a lack of technology, but that there aren\u0026rsquo;t enough people willing to help. Kumar decided her role would be to connect the people to the technology she saw change her brother\u0026rsquo;s life.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELaunching AxisAbility\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EShe launched the startup \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.axisability.net\/\u0022\u003EAxisAbility\u003C\/a\u003E in 2019 to empower people with autism to enter the workforce. The team includes three other Tech students: \u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/connerreinhardt\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EConner Reinhardt\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.rishma.co\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERishma Mendhekar\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/fangxiao-yu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERicky Yu\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. They are launching the Mentra app in partnership with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bitsofgood.org\/about-us\u0022\u003EGT Bits of Good\u003C\/a\u003E as their first initiative.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EKumar has been awarded the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/anitab.org\/awards-grants\/abie-awards\/student-of-vision-abie-award\/\u0022\u003EStudent of Vision Abie Award\u003C\/a\u003E from women in computing conference \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ghc.anitab.org\/\u0022\u003EGrace Hopper\u003C\/a\u003E for her work. She will speak at the upcoming conference\u003Cem\u003E \u003C\/em\u003Eon Thursday, October 3, from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m., in room OCCC W300.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Mentra pairs autistic people with students not on the spectrum to help them navigate the job hunt. "}],"uid":"34541","created_gmt":"2019-09-05 18:26:09","changed_gmt":"2019-09-05 18:27:08","author":"Tess Malone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-09-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2019-09-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"625707":{"id":"625707","type":"image","title":"Jhillika Kumar","body":null,"created":"1567708010","gmt_created":"2019-09-05 18:26:50","changed":"1567708010","gmt_changed":"2019-09-05 18:26:50","alt":"Jhillika Kumar","file":{"fid":"238212","name":"Headshot Best.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Headshot%20Best.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Headshot%20Best.png","mime":"image\/png","size":118312,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Headshot%20Best.png?itok=W4thf_9b"}}},"media_ids":["625707"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETess Malone, Communications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:tess.malone@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Etess.malone@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["tess.malone@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}