Autism Acceptance Month: My Journey at The Awesome Company

April is Autism Acceptance Month, a time to move beyond awareness and into meaningful action. It’s an opportunity to listen, learn, and recognize the value of neurodiversity in every community. We are pleased to have a guest blogger from The Awesome Company, Jonathan Menster.

I started working at The Awesome Company almost eight years ago and since that time, it has truly changed my life. I am more independent now than I have ever been, with a great amount of confidence in myself and my abilities. I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone at times and I am much less overwhelmed by my work tasks than I was when I started. 

There are a number of tasks I have become proficient at in my work, ones that I also enjoy. One of my favorite aspects of my job is reaching out to prospective customers. I do this through bag drops and e-mails. On bag drops, a coworker and I go to Central Ohio communities and pass out “swag bags” containing a t-shirt, handwritten thank you note, and a flyer with information about The Awesome Company. I love going out into the community and meeting business owners face-to-face. Only a few years ago, I never would have seen myself as a pitchman, but here we are. I also enjoy the gratification of getting an e-mail reply saying a business is interested in working with our company. 

Other skills that have improved through my job include my coordination through cutting out transfers to be pressed onto apparel. This used to cause me some anxiety, but it is almost second nature to me now. I have learned other skills such as doing inventory and getting orders ready for delivery. 

One other task I truly enjoy is writing thank you notes to customers. If you buy from us, look out for one from me or one of my coworkers. 

Another fulfilling way I get to interact with others through my job is working at gallery openings for The Awesome Gallery. In our gallery, neurodivergent artists promote and sell their artwork. I give visitors tours of The Awesome Company offices and explain the tasks I and other employees perform on a daily basis. 

The Awesome Company gives me support along with independence. My bosses also know my interests outside of work and have enabled me to express them. One of the ways they do this is through our movie group. On the second Wednesday of every month I get to choose a film to be screened for neurodivergent individuals like myself. This gives me something to look forward to and a chance to show my artistic taste. It also gives me the opportunity to make new acquaintances. 

Now that my job has become second nature to me, I hope to keep working at The Awesome Company as long as I can in the years to come and watch the business grow and flourish. I also hope to be an integral part of its success. I may even learn more new skills and have new and exciting experiences along the way. 

I feel privileged to work for and promote The Awesome Company. I have come to see it not only as a job, but as a kind of second home. I invite anyone to come visit our headquarters to receive a personal tour from me and get to know our business.  

From The Awesome Company: We are a custom printing and design studio dedicated to empowering and employing adults with autism. We help bring your custom t-shirt and custom apparel ideas to life, and employing awesomely autistic professionals makes our print quality sharper, our culture richer, and our impact more genuine.