In 2012 the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (the DDPC works out of the 4^th floor of our 1740 building) partnered with the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC) to develop new self-employment opportunities.  The Home Baked and Confectionary Goods law was used as the foundation for the project due to potential ease of implementation and access to hungry consumers with a love of baked goods.

Working with persons with autism spectrum disorders, the project put together and implemented a training program in baking, production and marketing and leveraged family support to help participants establish small businesses operated out of their home.  At the end of the project, a host of people with autism spectrum disorders completed the rigorous curriculum, got their food handler’s card and developed their product line.

For example, a company called SMILE Biscotti began with the efforts of Matt Resnik who developed biscotti using a traditional family recipe and sold them through friends, family and social media.  In his first months of operation, Matt delivered more than 25,000 biscotti and now maintains a website that includes a video of how his biscotti’s are prepared.

Another successful enterprise is the Stuttering King Bakery, a home-based business operated by Matt Cottle and his mom, Peggy.  The bakery offers an impressive array of delicious items including muffins, scones, brownies, whoopie pies (2 cookies with a filling) and cookies.  Eventually Matt hopes to expand his business enough to move his business to a brick and mortar bakery, where he’ll employ and teach the art of baking to others with autism.