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Jessica Wang once held a steady job in JP Morgan's cafeteria. But after the September 11th terrorist attacks, she was out of work.

Living with Asperger's, a syndrome included in the range of autism spectrum disorder, she found it hard to find new employment for several years.

"I was miserable that I had that learning disability," she recalled. "I kept blaming myself that there must be something wrong with me mentally."

Wang says she was finally able to start turning things around with the help of Job Path, an organization with the mission of helping people with developmental disabilities find employment, educational opportunities, live independently. if they can, and become involved in their communities.

Job Path's program for adults with autism is funded with the support of Linda Walder Fiddle, who started the Daniel Jordon Fiddle Foundation in the memory of her deceased son who had autism.

"During his lifetime, as he was aging, becoming eight and nine and one would think he is still a kid, but I was starting to think about now he is in school. What is going to happen to Danny when he is a teenager and when he is an adult?" explains Fiddle. "I started looking through to see if I could identify some programs, and there was really virtually nothing and this was going back to the year 2000."

The Fiddle Foundation is now providing funding and support to autism programs all over the country. At Job Path in New York, clients receive life coaching and one-on-one mentoring to help achieve their goals.

"The idea is really, really simple," says Job Path Executive Director Fredda Rosen. "The idea is that young people with autism want what all young people want. They want a fulfilling life. They want to find work they love. They want to have relationships. They want to further their education."

Now that more children are being diagnosed, advocates say the work they are doing is especially important, because as those kids age the demand for special services is sure to go up.

"There are currently approximately one-million people in the United States diagnosed with autism. Most of them are young children and those children will be growing up and they need to have a smooth transition," Fiddle says.

Now getting her GED and working part-time in a doggy day care, Wang says being involved with Job Path has given her a feeling of independence and a new sense of pride.

"I am glad because I won't have to depend on my parents so much," she says. "It's good for me."

For more information on the Fiddle Foundation and Job Path, go to DJFiddleFoundation.org or JobPathNYC.org.