One week removed from World Autism Month, here is an eye-opening fact for you. Up to 85% of autistic adults remain unemployed in the United States. Silvia Planas Prats knows these adults are capable of much more than society allows, and changed her entire life around to prove it.

Planas Prats, Founder & CEO of the Miami Is Kind Organization, quit her successful business career to start the whole sale industrial bakery in Miami. Her son Mark has autism and was the main source of inspiration for starting her new business venture. She expressed the sympathy she felt for other families and young adults with autism who were not getting the chance to make a living due to their disability. Knowing first hand that these men and woman are capable of so much more than believed by society, Planas Prats combined her love of baking with her goal of helping employ autistic adults, and opened Miami Is Kind in 2015.

The bakery started with gluten-free, deliciously healthy artisan macarons that each employee was taught to hand shape. “It was beautiful to see,” said Planas Prats. “Workers on the spectrum excel in the workplace with limited mistakes because they do not take shortcuts.” Production was going great. So great in fact, that Miami Is Kind caught the attention of Whole Foods Market. In order to keep up with the production needed for Whole Foods, Miami Is Kind turned to Empire Bakery Equipment for a machine that was easy to use and would help increase production of their macarons and other cookies.

That machine would end up being an Empire BabyDrop Cookie Depositor. The compact table-top design ensured that it would not take up too much room in the bakery, while the easy-to-use touch screen controls and 200-recipe memory capacity allowed the staff to easily produce up to 120 trays of high-quality cookies per hour. “We are super happy with the BabyDrop cookie depositor,” says Planas Prats. “It was easy to make adjustments for all the different dough consistencies, and the technical support team has always been so supportive and helpful.”

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Miami Is Kind plans to grow in the future, and Planas Prats hopes her business can help inspire others to do the same. She talks about all of the programs and support for autistic children and how wonderful it is, but stresses the importance of continuing to support these children as they become adults. “There is not enough support for autistic adults,” Planas Prats added. “I want to be a Pioneer and hope that my story can start a trend to help employ more adults on the spectrum because they are capable of so much more!”

Miami Is Kind hopes to sell one million cookies by next year, which will help them hire more adults on the spectrum. To learn more about this wonderful organization or to make a donation, please visit  www.miamiiskind.org!