Disabled Adults Seek Seek to Open Their Own Business

David Shunkey is autistic and doesn’t speak. Around the start of the recession, he got laid off from two jobs. Now he’s trying to run his own business.

More mentally and physically challenged adults are looking to entrepreneurship as they get closed out of an exceptionally competitive job market, according to several organizations that help the disabled, including Community Options Inc., a nonprofit based in Princeton, N.J. of which Mr. Shunkey is a member. But in an economic climate that’s been tough on entrepreneurs, the disabled are no exception, and many face extra challenges.