Thank you, Scot.

The most important thing I learned with many of those kids was that they liked to know how our day was laid out. This worked for me, because I also need the protection of a "plan".

I learned that if I found them a task that they excelled in, and praised them for it, they just kept getting better.

In gardening, one of the most satisfactory things is to arrive at a client, find a huge, horrible mess, and leave 4 hours later with everything organized, tidied and looking great. It provides one with instant (well almost instant) gratification.

My assorted clients loved our little team and were quick to praise the kids. I think this made them feel really good about themselves.

My favorite story is about one highly autistic lad who detested working outside, but took the job helping me because he had submitted 400 resumes for computer technician jobs and had gotten zero response. He had taken the computer technician course to please his mother.

He was 19 when he came to work for me. He was with me for one spring and summer, and had applied for a fulltime job at our local grocery store. I put in a word with the manager there and he was hired. He did well in the produce department, loving to stock the shelves, and progressed to assistant manager in 2 years. He moved on to a healthfood chain, became a manager, was given a package because they were purchased by a large outfit. When I ran into him 6 years later, he was section manager at a large discount store, and had just purchased a fancy condo in an expensive building in our area, having wisely invested his payout package. I can tell you, Scot, I was never so pleased in my life. He surprised the heck out of his parents, who figured he would never do anything with his life.