Tyler MacDougall lands job with help of Autism Nova Scotia

It took about two years, a lot of determination and some help from Autism Nova Scotia for 18-year-old Tyler MacDougall to land his first part-time paid job. 

"It's like a family here," he says of his co-workers at Canadian Tire in Halifax's Clayton Park. 

MacDougall, who has high functioning autism, was hired part-time after a pre-vocational summer work placement at the store in July and August.

When Autism Nova Scotia first proposed the idea to the Canadian Tire store, "they weren't sure what it was all about," says Tyler MacDougall's mother, Lauri MacDougall.

But she says the reluctance didn't last long.

"I think it was a month later they turned around and brought Tyler aboard."

This was welcome news to her son, who had dropped off resumes at the store before. 

"He would come to Canadian Tire in a shirt and tie, ask for the manager and hand his resume," says Lauri MacDougall. "He really wanted this job."

The job has gone so well that his managers have offered him extended hours during his holiday break from Nova Scotia Community College, where he studies architecture. While Tyler MacDougall says this isn't the job he plans to have forever, it's become an asset in his life in multiple ways. 

"It's helped me gain experience and get out of the house. It also helps me get some money, income, so I can get stuff I want. And help pay for my college," says Tyler MacDougall. 

It also offers a sense of belonging. 

"It's not really just a store. It's kind of like a home away from home in a sense," he says.

Every year, Autism Nova Scotia helps about 10 to 15 high school students with autism find work experience placements, similar to Tyler MacDougall's.

They don't often lead to a job, but Autism Nova Scotia does provide employment supports to clients of every age; those supports often end up in their clients finding work.