Today we’d like to introduce you to Oliver Thornton.
Oliver, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I was two years old, I was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome, shortly after my older brother was diagnosed with autism. Later in my life, my younger brother, who is 12 now, was also diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.
I went to public school K-12 and was a part of the IEP programs throughout my entire education. Throughout this process, I learned that the traditional education system was not specifically tailored to my learning style and that I struggled personally in this environment. So did my older brother as well as my younger brother who is currently at Miliken Middle School.
Growing up, I was a top-ranked tennis player in Southern California that played local and national tennis tournaments through the USTA. I even briefly played D1 and D3 tennis at the University of Arizona (UA) and California Lutheran University (CLU) respectively.
Prior to transferring to CLU, I was struggling at the UA. Given the party school culture, I was consumed with the party scene, which derailed me from my studies and priorities. When I transferred to CLU to regroup and move closer to home, I changed my mentality to focus more on my academics and to focus on a successful transition to my career. During this time, I founded Coding Autism, which I have continued to work on since.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It would say that getting to where I am today has not been a smooth road. I struggled in my schooling until about my junior year of college, where I was able to regroup myself at my new college. As an entrepreneur, I have struggled with getting my business off of the ground in the early stages as I was a first time entrepreneur who was learning the ropes on running a business without any prior experience besides my business education. On the bright side, this has been one of my most invaluable learning experiences that I could ever imagine.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Coding Autism – what should we know?
Coding Autism is building the first autism specialized coding academy, pairing online coding education, community, and an autism-savvy support team to help transition autistic talent into our technology workforce. We provide project-based and in-demand coding curriculum, experienced mentors and career counselors, and on-call tutoring and soft skills support to help provide autistic students an alternative form of education that is catered to their strengths.
In short, we provide online coding training to individuals with autism with the end goal of helping them secure employment within the technology industry.
What we are most proud of as a company is the fact that we have helped one of our graduates secure a $65,000/year job at PeerStreet and that we are on the verge of making a significant impact in the lives of many individuals with autism.
What sets us apart from other companies is our autism specificity when it comes to coding training. There are other online coding training companies out there, but none of them provide the level of focus to the autism population as ours does
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I believe that my determination, resiliency, and passion for what I am doing are my most successful characteristics.
Pricing:
- Part-time Online Python and React Program : $7500
- Full-time Online Python and React Program: $10,000
Contact Info:
- Website: codingautism.com
- Phone: 3107041794
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/codingautism/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/codingautismcom/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/codingautism
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