World Autism Acceptance Day

striving for acceptance & inclusion

some of the things we've learned from autism

On world Autism Acceptance Day it's the perfect day to reflect on all the things we have learned and how we have been blessed by raising a daughter and working along side so many beautiful people with autism.

In case you don't know our story, our bakery is named after our two daughters and our eldest Juliana is on the spectrum. It was because of her that we were inspired to create a workplace that is inclusive of people of all abilities including individuals with autism.

We have always been very open and honest about all of the joy and all of the challenges that come with having a child with autism. It's our hope that by sharing our experience we can hopefully create more understanding, acceptance and, ultimately, inclusion. We try to foster that same environment here at Gabi & Jules. In the years since we began our journey of being an inclusive employer we have learned so much (enough to fill a book probably) but more than that our day-to-day lives have truly been enriched by seeing individuals excel and thrive very much because of their autism, not in spite of their autism.

From having one team member who's been with us pretty much since day one become a master at building boxes (a very important job here at the bakery) to another who can scoop cookies pretty much more efficiently and consistently than anyone else to our incredible and invaluable dishwasher extraordinaire (a.k.a. our dishwashing ninja!), these individuals are consistent, reliable and very good at their jobs. And even more than that, they bring joy to their job and with that truly bring joy to our entire team.   

By seeing potential in and creating opportunity for those who maybe could have been overlooked, our business is not only better for it, we're better people knowing them. We hope to continue to add to our team here and do hope that by sharing our story we can inspire other businesses to look for ways to become more inclusive.