Use of Vocational Rehabilitation Supports for Postsecondary Education Among Transition-Age Youth on the Autism Spectrum.
Jessica E Rast, Anne M Roux, Paul T Shattuck
PMID 30848406WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic transition-age youth who received VR-funded postsecondary training were more likely to leave vocational rehabilitation with employment.
Only 18.3% received such training. This is an association, not proof the training caused employment.
Key findings
0118.3% of transition-age youth with autism received postsecondary education training services through VR, compared with 15.3% of those with other intellectual or developmental disabilities and 32.0% of all other transition-age youth with disabilities.
02After weighting to balance measured characteristics, autistic transition-age youth who received PSE training had 1.59 times higher odds of exiting VR with employment than those who did not (95% CI 1.38, 1.84; p < 0.001).
03Autistic youth who received PSE training were younger, less likely to receive SSI at application, less often deemed to have most significant disability, and less often received supported employment or short-term on-the-job supports than those who did not receive PSE training.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study only includes autistic youth who used VR services, so it does not describe autistic youth who never sought vocational rehabilitation. Employment was measured only as presence or absence at VR exit; the paper does not report wages, job length, or household supports. Disability severity was captured only as most significant disability, and SSI receipt remained different after weighting, so the groups may still differ in impairment or support needs. The design is observational, so it cannot prove that PSE training caused employment; unmeasured factors may explain the association. The paper does not describe how states provide PSE training services, what services were delivered, or their quality. Administrative records may have unknown accuracy and reliability.
Declared interests
The paper reports funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 1.59 times higher odds as proof that PSE training causes employment. The study was observational administrative data, the groups still differed on SSI receipt after weighting, and it only covers autistic youth who used VR services.