SALT LAKE CITY — When Addie Morley sits down with friends to play with Legos, the colorful blocks are more than just fun.
The 24-year-old says the activity helps manage her anxiety and fidgeting — small, yet meaningful moments that have become a part of her journey toward becoming independent.
Morley is part of NextWork, an autism program connected Columbus Community Center in Salt Lake City. The program helps people learn practical life skills, including cleaning, grocery shopping, and cooking, as well as building skills to find employment — things that may feel especially overwhelming for people with autism.
Amy Wadsworth, NextWork's director, said members live in "training apartments" nearby where they live on their own but with guidance from program leaders.
"Coming here and being able to find friends who are just like me who understood the struggles that I go through day-to-day was amazing," said Morley, who has been a part of the program for over a year.
Natalie Buerger, a psychologist and clinical director at Huntsman Mental Health Institute's Autism Clinic, emphasizes that autism affects everyone differently.
"I think of autism as more of a way of thinking, how someone's brain works," Buerger said. “We know there’s differences in social communication, that’s just a piece that’s true for every autistic individual.”
Buerger shared an example that represents how people with autism may express themselves differently.
"I met a kid, he was the most delightful guy, when he noticed when someone was upset, he would share his most favorite passion with them. He would talk on and on about the things that he loved, and that's how he showed that he cared," Buerger said. "Other people might interpret that in a different way.
"I think a lot of us need to open our minds a little bit to how people might show how they care.”
Wadsworth says the understanding of different communication styles and expressions of care forms the foundation of programs like NextWork, which recently helped Morley land a job as a machinist after she and others completed a 12-week CNC Machine Operation training program.
On Friday, Morley will graduate as part of an inaugural cohort of adults with autism graduating from the first Utah Uniquely Abled Machinist Program — a partnership with the Columbus Community Center, the Utah Manufacturers Association, and Salt Lake Community College.
"It gives me goosebumps knowing that I have a community who understands and can support me in ways that like my mom can't or a sibling," Morley said.
Wadsworth says while similar programs, such as the Utah Uniquely Abled Machinist Program, exist across the U.S., this marks the first of its kind in Utah. The program receives funding through a Talent Ready Utah Return to Work grant, according to Wadsworth.
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