The need for useful evidence about services is increasing as larger numbers of children identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) age toward adulthood. The objective of this review was to characterize the topical and methodological aspects of research on services for supporting success in work, education, and social participation among adults with an ASD and to propose recommendations for moving this area of research forward. We reviewed the literature published in English from 2000 to 2010 and found that the evidence base about services for adults with an ASD is underdeveloped and can be considered a field of inquiry that is relatively unformed. Extant research does not reflect the demographic or impairment heterogeneity of the population, the range of services that adults with autism require to function with purposeful lives in the community, and the need for coordination across service systems and sectors. Future studies must examine issues related to cost and efficiency, given the broader sociopolitical and economic context of service provision. Further, future research needs to consider how demographic and impairment heterogeneity have implications for building an evidence base that will have greater external validity.
FombonneE.Epidemiology of pervasive developmental disorders. Pediatr Res. 2009;65(6):591–598.
2.
HowlinP.Redressing the balance in autism research. Nat Clin Pract Neurol. 2008;4(8):407.
3.
GerhardtPLainerI.Addressing the needs of adolescents and adults with autism: A crisis on the horizon. J Contemp Psychother. 2011;41(1):37–45.
4.
National Audit Office. Supporting people with autism through adulthood: Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General. London (GB): The Stationery Office; 2009.
GerhardtPF. The current state of services for adults with autism [Internet]. [place of publication unknown]: Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism; 2009 [cited 2011 Jul 1]. Available from: http://nyc4a.org/pdf/oar_survey_11309.pdf.
7.
Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. 2011 IACC strategic plan for autism spectrum disorder research. Washington (DC): US Department of Health and Human Services; 2011.
8.
HowlinPMossP.Adults with autism spectrum disorders. Can J Psychiatry. 2012;57(5):275–283.
9.
LattimoreLPParsonsMBReidDH. A prework assessment of task preferences among adults with autism beginning a supported job. J Appl Behav Anal. 2002;35(1):85–88.
10.
LattimoreLPParsonsMBReidDH. Assessing preferred work among adults with autism beginning supported jobs: Identification of constant and alternating task preferences. Behav Interv. 2003;18(3):161–177.
11.
LattimoreLPParsonsMReidDH, Enhancing job-site training of supported workers with autism: A reemphasis on simulation. J Appl Behav Anal. 2006;39(1):91–102.
12.
LattimoreLPParsonsM.Simulation training of community job skills for adults with autism: A further analysis. Behav Anal Pract. 2008;1(1):24–29.
13.
LattimoreLP. Rapid training of a community job skill to nonvocal adults with autism: An extension of intensive teaching. Behav Anal Pract. 2009;2(1):34–42.
14.
AllenKDWallaceDPGreeneDJ, Community-based vocational instruction using videotaped modeling for young adults with autism spectrum disorders performing in air-inflated mascots. Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl. 2010;25(3):186–192.
15.
AllenKDWallaceDPRenesD, Use of video modeling to teach vocational skills to adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders. Educ Treat Children. 2010;33(3):339–349.
16.
BurkeRVAndersenMNBowenSL, Evaluation of two instruction methods to increase employment options for young adults with autism spectrum disorders. Res Dev Disabil. 2010;31(6):1223–1233.
17.
HillierACampbellHMastrianiK, Two-year evaluation of a vocational support program for adults on the autism spectrum. Career Dev Except Individ. 2007;30(1):35–47.
18.
HowlinPAlcockJBurkinC.An 8 year follow-up of a specialist supported employment service for high-ability adults with autism or Asperger syndrome. Autism. 2005;9(5):533–549.
19.
CimeraRECowanRJ. The costs of services and employment outcomes achieved by adults with autism in the US. Autism. 2009;13(3):285–302.
20.
HurlbuttKK. Employment and adults with asperger syndrome. Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl. 2004;19(4):215–222.
21.
McDonoughJTRevellG.Accessing employment supports in the adult system for transitioning youth with autism spectrum disorders. J Vocat Rehabil. 2010;32(2):89–100.
22.
MüllerESchulerABurtonBA, Meeting the vocational support needs of individuals with Asperger syndrome and other autism spectrum disabilities. J Vocat Rehabil. 2003;18(3):163–175.
23.
BennettHEWoodCLHareDJ. Providing care for adults with autistic spectrum disorders in learning disability services: Needs-based or diagnosis-driven?J Appl Res Intellect Disabil. 2005;18(1):57–64.
24.
HillierAFishTCloppertP, Outcomes of a social and vocational skills support group for adolescents and young adults on the autism spectrum. Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl. 2007;22(2):107–115.
25.
LawerLBrusilovskiyESalzerM, Use of vocational rehabilitative services among adults with autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2009;39(3):487–494.
26.
SchallerJYangNK. Competitive employment for people with autism: Correlates of successful closure in competitive and supported employment. Rehabil Couns Bull. 2005;49(1):4–16.
27.
MacLeodA.Beyond the books: Case study of a collaborative and holistic support model for university students with Asperger syndrome. Studies in Higher Education (Dorchester-on-Thames). 2009;34(6):631–646.
28.
McClannahanLEMacDuffGSKrantzPJ. Behavior analysis and intervention for adults with autism. Behav Modif. 2002;26(1):9–26.
29.
SperryLAMesibovGB. Perceptions of social challenges of adults with autism spectrum disorder. Autism. 2005;9(4):362–376.
30.
Turner-BrownLPerryTDDichterGS, Brief report: Feasibility of social cognition and interaction training for adults with high functioning autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2008;38(9):1777–1784.
31.
Van BourgondienMEReichleNCSchoplerE.Effects of a model treatment approach on adults with autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2003;33(2):131–140.
32.
American Psychiatric Association (APA). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th ed. Text revision. Washington (DC): APA; 2000.
33.
EmersonEGrahamHHattonC.The measurement of poverty and socioeconomic position in research involving people with intellectual disability. Int Rev Res Ment Retard. 2006;32:77–108.
34.
GalobardesBLynchJSmithGD. Measuring socioeconomic position in health research. Br Med Bull. 2007;81–82(1):21–37.
35.
RobertSSA. Socioeconomic position and health: The independent contribution of community socioeconomic context. Annu Rev Sociol. 1999;25(1):489–516.
36.
SmithGD. Learning to live with complexity: Ethnicity, socioeconomic position, and health in Britain and the United States. Am J Public Health. 2000;90(11):1694–1698.
37.
SmedleyBDStithAYNelsonAR. Unequal treatment: Confronting racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Washington (DC): National Academies Press; 2004.
38.
Department of Health. “Fulfilling and rewarding lives”: the strategy for adults with autism in England. London (GB): Department of Health; 2010.
39.
PetticrewMWhiteheadMMacintyreSJ, Evidence for public health policy on inequalities: 1: The reality according to policymakers. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2004;58(10):811–816.
40.
TaylorJLSeltzerMM. Changes in the autism behavioral phenotype during the transition to adulthood. J Autism Dev Disord. 2010;40(12):1431–1446.
41.
ArnettJJ. Emerging adulthood. A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. Am Psychol. 2000;55(5):469–480.
42.
FussellEFurstenbergFFJr., The transition to adulthood during the twentieth century: Race, nativity, and gender. In: SetterstenRAJrFurstenbergFFJrRumbautRG, editors. On the frontier of adulthood: Theory, research, and public policy. Chicago (IL): University of Chicago Press; 2005.
43.
FurstenbergFFJrRumbautRGSetterstenRAJr., On the frontier of adulthood: Emerging themes and new directions. In: SetterstenRAJrFurstenbergFFJrRumbautRG, editors. On the frontier of adulthood: Theory, research, and public policy. Chicago (IL): University of Chicago Press; 2005.
44.
TaylorJ.The transition to adulthood for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and their families. Int Rev Res Ment Retard Dev Disabil. 2009;38:1–32.
45.
ShattuckPTWagnerMNarendorfS, Post-high school service use among young adults with an autism spectrum disorder. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2011;165(2):141–146.
46.
TraniJ-F.Screening children for disability. Lancet. 2009;374(9704):1806–1807.
47.
TraniJ-FBakhshiPNoorAA, Poverty, vulnerability, and provision of healthcare in Afghanistan. Soc Sci Med. 2010;70(11):1745–1755.
48.
TerziL.Beyond the dilemma of difference: The capability approach to disability and special educational needs. J Philos Educ. 2005;39(3):443–459.
49.
MitraS.The capability approach and disability. J Disabil Policy Stud. 2006;16(4):236–247.
50.
SenA.Development as freedom. 1st ed.New York (NY): Knopf; 1999.
51.
SenA.Commodities and capabilities. Oxford (GB): Oxford University Press; 1985.
52.
BurchardtT.Capabilities and disability: The capabilities framework and the social model of disability. Disabil Soc. 2004;19(7):735–751.
53.
DuboisJLTraniJ-F.Extending the capability paradigm to address the complexity of disability. Alter—Eur J Disabil Res. 2009;3(3):192–218.
54.
World Health Organization (WHO). International classification of functioning, disability and health. Geneva (CH): WHO; 2001.
55.
AdayLABegleyCELairsonDR, Evaluating the healthcare system: Effectiveness, efficiency, and equity. 3rd ed.Chicago (IL): Health Administration Press; 2004.
56.
AdayLABegleyCELairsonDR, A framework for assessing the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of behavioral healthcare. Am J Manag Care. 1999;5:25–44.
57.
PenchanskyRThomasJW. The concept of access: Definition and relationship to consumer satisfaction. Med Care. 1981;19(2):127–140.
