Abstract
Background:
Research suggests that autistic youth and young adults often experience barriers to sustained employment. Although there is an existing body of literature on the barriers and facilitators to employment, little of this literature focuses solely on the perspectives of autistic youth and young adults. To better support autistic youth and young adults at work, we aimed to determine which workplace supports and accommodations these individuals classify as key supports based on their lived experiences.
Methods:
We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 12 autistic youth and young adults (ages 17–29 years old) about their workplace experiences and perspectives. We conducted interviews virtually and used a grounded theory approach to analyze and organize the transcribed interview data into themes.
Results:
Six themes of workplace supports emerged from the data. The resulting themes were as follows: (1) hands-on training methods with opportunities for practice, (2) employer-provided accommodations, (3) social support, (4) job-fit, (5) external supports, and (6) inclusive workplace culture and self-advocacy. Employer-provided accommodations included written and direct instruction, flexible scheduling, and supports for sensory needs and social-communication. Social support included support from managers, coworkers, and through proximity to others. Job-interest match, workload, level of social interaction, and a sense of routine all contributed to job-fit.
Conclusion:
The six identified themes provide a guide for the ways in which employers could better support autistic youth and young adults at work. Notably, many of the identified themes were cost-effective, easy to implement, and may benefit autistic and nonautistic employees alike. Practical implications for employers and vocational support practitioners are also discussed.
Community Brief
Why was this study done?
Autistic young people often talk about facing challenges at work. We wanted to learn from autistic young people about what kinds of things help them at work. Their views on this may give information on how employers can better support autistic people at work.
What was the purpose of this study?
The goal of this study was to find out what things autistic young people describe as being helpful for them at work.
What did the researchers do?
We talked to twelve autistic people, between the ages of 17 and 29, using Zoom. We asked them about their current or most recent job, and what they liked and did not like about it. We also asked them what things they found helpful at their job. We asked them how satisfied they were with these things, and if they wished they had more support at work. Then we converted their audio-recorded interviews into text and analyzed their answers. We grouped common answers together into main topics (or themes).
What were the results of this study?
We found six main themes in the participants’ responses about what they found helpful at their jobs. These were: (1) hands-on training, (2) “accommodations” or adjustments that employers can make to help them, (3) supportive managers and co-workers, (4) a good job fit, (5) help from outside programs like job training programs or job coaches, and (6) a workplace where people understood and accepted autism. For “accommodations,” they wanted employers to provide directions in a written and direct way, be flexible with job schedules, and help with sensory needs and communication. They told us that workload stress, social interaction, routine, and having a job that was interesting all related to job fit.
What do these findings add to what was already known?
These findings agree with other research about autistic people’s preferences at work but give us some new information about what autistic young people want at work. For example, we learned that autistic young people want to work remotely to help with sensory and communication needs. We also learned that some autistic young people like a lot of social interaction at work, even if they also have difficulty because of miscommunications. Also, autistic young people often had to self-advocate for the inclusivity that they wanted at work.
What are potential weaknesses in this study?
Most participants were White women with education after high school. Also, everyone in the study communicated vocally. This means that these 12 participants may not represent the whole autistic community. This study also was not done by autistic people.
How will these findings help autistic people now or in the future?
We hope this helps others learn about autistic young people’s views about what support they want at work. We also hope that the findings help to improve vocational rehabilitation programming and planning for the transition to adulthood. This may also help employers to better support and advocate for autistic people’s needs at work.
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