My Nonprofit Reviews

Do you want to know the truth? Maybe you haven’t found other options, so you need to believe in the facade. If you really want to know the truth, look behind the curtain. Yes, it appears to be a place of hope for adults on the autism spectrum. However, after 7 years of teaching, project-managing, leading, mentoring, and advocating for the crew, I decided to leave the company after my eyes were opened to oppressive, self-serving, and dishonest behavior from leaders who refused to listen to anyone who challenged their decisions. Do you think it’s okay to exclude the Aspie staff from getting the button-down company shirts and name badges that all other staff members received? What about excluding them from weekly staff meetings? Should neurotypical staff be the only ones invited to company staff parties? Surely, a company claiming to “Build Better Futures for Adults on the Autism Spectrum” wouldn’t do these things! Oh, but they did!! Imagine the 2017 Staff Christmas Party held on-site during business hours, where only neurotypicals were invited. While the party was occurring in the Mos Eisley room, our Aspie colleagues could see us through the window! It broke my heart!!! Unfortunately, because the current CEO and his followers detested anyone who challenged their thinking, I had to be very careful until I found another job. If I had been financially secure, I would have quit on the spot! To be clear, prior to the party when I saw the email with the names of my Aspie colleagues missing, I approached the person responsible for taking menu orders. She emailed the Director of Operations to ask if they should be included, but he replied, “No, they are getting gift cards.” What?!!! Why are they being treated less than the neurotypical staff?!! In mid-January, after one of the excluded staff members shared his deep disappointment regarding all of the ways they were treated inferiorly, did I decide to risk losing my job. On 1/19/18 I spoke to the Director of Operations about the injustice and unrighteousness. When he tried to say that it was my responsibility to speak up prior to the party, I let him know that I not only did that, but that I also read his response denying them access to the party. (He knew that I was documenting everything.) The next day, I learned from my Aspie colleague that the Director of Operations apologized to him and the others and told them that the company would order shirts and name badges and start including them in the meetings. Why the sudden change??? You decide. Maybe the Director of Operations knew that nP was at-risk for lawsuits, or at least public outrage. As for me, having felt betrayed by those who present nothing more than a façade, I moved on to a positive work environment, while remaining in touch with some crew and colleagues. I can only imagine how those on the autism spectrum must feel. Do you think they feel valued and respected? Are they limited by a glass ceiling?

Additional questions should be asked about the integrity of the information provided to families. On the surface, Nonpareil appears successful, because presenting a positive spin on the data is what the Chief Program Officer is good at…not making meaningful connections with the crew or being an autism expert immediately after earning his degree. Maybe there are a lot of employment hours and reported success in terms of those who move on to college, other training, or jobs. However, if you separate the hours of the few full-time staff from part-time, and review the average number of hours for part-time employees, you will see a clearer story. Also, you need to understand that those part-timers continue to pay the full tuition, while the full-timers earn ridiculously low salaries. Even one autistic member of staff with a Masters in Computer Science was hired to work at nP at a salary that is near-impossible to support oneself…and that was 25% more than the former CEO wanted to offer, all while he and the current CEO were making big money! In my shock and dismay, I advocated for the higher pay, which was still way too low! After working there several years, he left nP for a position that earned several times the pay he was still making at nP. While Nonpareil may claim this as their program success, this autistic member of staff was never part of the crew. Not only that, drastically underpaying someone who has very marketable skills while filling executives’ pockets should never be considered success! It’s plain wrong!!

Further questions regarding the numbers which appear to indicate program success involve claiming success in situations where there was no real success. Apparently, the Chief Program Officer decided to count a success when a crew member left the program to either attend school or training, or to get a job, regardless of the job and regardless of the level of satisfaction of the crew member and family. For example, it was announced a success when someone returned to his part-time job at a fast-food restaurant after a couple of years in the technical program. Is that the kind of success that families are seeking? Another crew member who put forth very little effort during his 3+ years in the program left Nonpareil. When I asked him if he learned anything at Nonpareil, he said, “Yes! I’m now able to get a job that I’m too lazy to do!” (Yikes!) At the next staff meeting when it was announced that he was leaving, we were told that it was a success because he was leaving to go to culinary school. Really??! Ultimately, the numbers presented don't reveal the true story.

Throughout my years at Nonpareil, I spoke to the former CEO about the way the current CEO sold the program to families and set inaccurate expectations. It seemed as though he’d do anything to get money in the door. Then, when crew members and their parents became dissatisfied because their expectations weren’t being met, he’d point to the technical leaders who worked day in and day out with limited resources. It’s a shame that people have been misled! They need hope so they believe, until they realize the truth. Sometimes, the truth is hard and painful and requires change, but it’s better than living in a fantasy.

Notice that a number of the people writing positive reviews to this website are Board members, even though they all don’t identify themselves that way. I wonder if they know the truth about the leaders? Do they care? When I met with the Chairman of the Board before I left, I suggested that he reach out to former employees to ask what caused them to leave and what they thought of both the former CEO and the current CEO. As far as I know, he never did, but instead wanted to believe that everyone had the right heart. Hmmm? Maybe that’s what he wanted to believe. Maybe that's easier than dealing with the hard truth. I wonder what his son who is on the autism spectrum, but not part of Nonpareil, would think about the information I’m sharing. Would he care? Does anyone care???

I should’ve written this review sooner, but I was weary when I left that toxic place. Even though it would’ve been easier to simply walk away, I truly care about the autistic adults that I served for so long. I want them to have a voice…a real voice. Today, I’m speaking up for them, while risking backlash from the current CEO and his followers. If #ProgrammingHope or #DallasNews or one of the other news outlets would do a follow-up of their programs/articles and speak privately to individuals, the autistic adults could be heard. Do you want to know the truth? Do you care?