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Devon, Pa. Auto Repair Shop Will Be Training Ground For Autistic Adults

By Mike Dougherty

DEVON, Pa. (CBS) -- Adults with autism and other developmental disabilities will have an opportunity for employment training at a recently renovated auto repair shop on the Main Line.

The shop has four bays, complete with hydraulic lifts and an indoor car wash.

Chip Tamagni will oversee the staff and supervise them as they perform a variety of services and repairs.

"Everything from oil changes to detailing to brake jobs to state inspections," he says.

Bob Kreider, CEO of Devereux, says the shop on Old Lancaster Avenue in Devon (Chester County) will help employees in a number of ways:

"A sense of pride. A sense of accomplishment. A sense of a strong connection to the community."

Inventor and businessman Dave Reichwein, who has a son with autism, helped make this possible with a donation.

"The school districts are very helpful until the adults reach 21, then their funding is cut off," Reichwein notes.  "So what I'm trying to do is fill a gap."

This is one of several Devereux projects he supports because, he says, autism is an epidemic in America.

 

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