Young Man With Autism Writes to ‘Future Employer’ Asking To ‘Take a Chance on Me’

• Ryan Lowry posted a handwritten letter to his future employer on LinkedIn which went viral.
• He talked of his talents, abilities, willingness to learn and work hard, and opened up about his autism.
• Offers for mentorship, career advice, and employment opportunities have been pouring.

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One in 54 children are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Symptoms vary from one person to another but they do have common difficulties with communication, emotional, and social skills affecting their way of learning.

One 20-year-old with autism recently went popular as he penned a handwritten letter to his future employer and posted on LinkedIn.

Ryan Lowry wrote in part: “I realize that someone like you will have to take a chance on me, I don’t learn like typical people do. I would need a mentor to teach me, but I learn quickly, once you explain it, I get it. I promise that if you hire me and teach me, you’ll be glad that you did.”

The letter described his go-getter attitude, his passions and talents, his sense of humor, his gift for mathematics, and his willingness to learn.  He also said that he would like to pursue an animation career, work hard and report to work every day.

It garnered 176,000 reactions and almost 6,000 comments.  Majority of which offered to mentor him and gave career advice.

Ryan wrote the letter in a way that echoes the sentiments of people with autism and their families.

His parents, Tracy and Rob Lowry said, “We had never thought this was going to happen and we were overwhelmed with the number of people with stories like Ryan’s story, which is a really beautiful part of what’s happening as well.” Tracy said that they lay in bed at night and cry over the stories of other people.

Ryan has received job offers from a lot of people but for now he is enrolled in a program that makes him learn on-the-job-training. He is also a barista.

The community’s response to Ryan has restored the family’s faith in humanity. “So it’s been uplifting to say the least and gives us a lot of hope that he can get to a place that we want him to be, and he wants to be,” said Rob Lowry.

Source: PEOPLE