Chris Varney, National Director of the I Can Network You were the founder of the I CAN Network, right? Sure am What inspired you to create it? All my life I feel like a message has been building within me. That sounds dramatic to say I know. Nevertheless that’s how
Grapevine
We’re recruiting!
The I Can Network is looking for new members to join our family! At I CAN Network, we are driving a rethink of Autism, from ‘I Can’t’ to ‘I CAN’. Our purpose is to inspire a confident ‘I CAN’ attitude in the hearts and minds of young Australians on the
I Can Happenings
Ahoy me hearties! It’s been a bountiful year on the spectrum seas. The I Can Network has expanded its crew, faced great challenges, and emerged victorious, and as 2014 draws to a close, we’re sailing into exciting and uncharted waters. There have been so many highlights this year is hard
I Can testimonials
Working with the I CAN Network has been an awesome roller coaster! It has given me the courage to try more than I could ever do and I’m ever so grateful for everyone in the team giving me all the positive reinforcement I needed to keep going. 🙂 All the
“Must be Aspie”; limiting one’s self to dating within the spectrum
By Max Williams I don’t know about you, but to me, courtship is like juggling bars of wet soap while blindfolded, walking a tightrope, and reciting Shakespeare in Elvish. Apparently I’m not alone in this, especially when it comes to people on the autism spectrum, where the social challenges we
The first I Can school: Marymede Catholic College in South Morang
By Christian Tsoutsouvas Early December 2014 saw the culmination of months spent working with a sizeable group of autistic students of assorted ages, personalities and points on the spectrum. Many of their parents were thankfully able to come the final presentation night to see each one of them show us
Our first teen’s camp
By Max Williams After the slightly bumpy but transcendent success of our adult’s camp in April, we at the I Can Network set our sights on the next logical step; a camp for teenagers on the autism spectrum. This was perhaps the greatest challenge our organization has undertaken to date. Because many
I lost the war to a bike!
I’d hate to see how I look when I’m getting on a bike. If I’m riding in a big group, I always make sure to savour the moment when everyone else is starting to mount their bikes too. I look down and start getting the pedal into a good position
The Outro – July Grapevine
It began with a crazy conversation. I Can leader James Ong and I met up at the Monash University Den in May 2013 and started dreaming up the I Can Network. We talked about bringing Autistic young people together through strengths-based networks that could span schools, universities and training institutions.
So, do you work?
Here’s a sobering statistic: 66% of adults with autism in Australia are unemployed, compared to 6% of the general adult population. In other words, only one in three has a job, and we are eleven times less likely to have a job compared to our non-autistic counterparts. People often ask