Abstract
The present study examined the employment landscape for 129 U.S. autistic young adults. Data were collected over multiple waves including high school and early adulthood. Parents participated in interviews and responded to questions regarding young adult employment outcomes, on-the-job supports, job match, and overall job satisfaction. The predictive relationship between in-school variables and employment outcomes was examined. Findings indicate over 50% of the sample had at least one job working independently in the community for pay. Parents reported the need for both formal and informal support to both obtain and sustain employment. Over half of the parents reported that the young adult’s job was aligned with their interests/strengths and that the young adult was satisfied. Predictive analyses indicated a relationship between work-based learning experiences in high school and general education involvement during high school and later paid employment in adulthood. Future research, limitations, and implications for practice are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
