Rhodes State College’s Uniquely Abled Academy is teaching individuals who are high functioning on the autistic spectrum the skills to enter the manufacturing industry. Students learn to program, set up and operate CNC machines. It is a 10-week program with 420 hours of in-class instruction plus 20 hours plus of job readiness instruction.
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Rhodes State College officially announced its new workforce development program called the Uniquely Abled Academy. It is the first to be established outside of California. The academy will educate people on the autism spectrum about CNC, or Computer Numerical Control machines that shape materials for manufacturing. The 16-week program is free and is expected to begin in April with up to 7 students. The coordinator, John Wheeler, says starting courses like this in our area is important to shift the idea of disabled into uniquely abled.