Vocational Outcomes in ASD: An Examination of Work Readiness Skills as well as Barriers and Facilitators to Employment Identified by Autistic Adults.
Nancy Raitano Lee, Goldie A McQuaid, Hannah E Grosman and 2 others
PMID 36394783WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic adults with stronger flexibility and daily living skills were more likely to be employed without support.
Qualitative themes identified job mismatch and workplace inflexibility as key barriers, alongside the need for employer psychoeducation.
Key findings
01Work Style (flexibility/coping) and Routine Daily Activities were significant predictors of being employed without support in the primary model.
02When controlling for demographics and psychiatric symptoms, only Work Style remained a significant predictor of vocational outcomes.
03Barriers to employment included intrapersonal ASD traits, difficulty finding a 'match' between desired and actual job, and lack of autism-friendly workplaces leading to burnout.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot determine if work readiness skills cause better employment or if employment improves skills. ASD diagnoses were self-reported, though supported by registry data and screening tools. Work readiness was assessed solely by self-report, which may differ from objective observation. The sample was predominantly white and non-Hispanic, limiting generalizability to other racial and ethnic groups. The modified TVI could not distinguish between full-time and part-time employment in the primary outcome ranking.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the association between work readiness and employment as causal. The cross-sectional design means it is equally likely that individuals who are employed have developed stronger work readiness skills through practice, rather than those skills leading to employment.