What we are reading.
The following research papers offer a diverse look at what it means to be an adult on the spectrum.
Peer Reviewed
Barriers and Facilitators to Employment for Adults with Autism: A Scoping Review
By Erin Harmuth et. al
Main Takeaway: This review suggests that focusing attention on customized, long-term supports and accommodations within encouraging and informed communities and workplaces contributes to successful employment for individuals with ASD.
Survey of vocational experiences of adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and recommendations on improving their employment
By Devon Coleman and James Adams
Main Takeaway: Underemployment and unemployment are major problems for adults with ASD, and multiple barriers to their employment are identified. Based on the survey, recommendations are provided on how to help adults with ASD find and maintain employment.
Autism and Employment: Implications for Employers and Adults with ASD
By Calvin Solomon
Main Takeaway: Many are unwilling to hire capable autistic candidates, concerned among other things about an increase in supervision costs and a decrease in productivity. This bias is based on misperceptions; the financial/social benefits of hiring adults with ASD, for businesses and the individual, often outweigh the costs.
Alarmingly large unemployment gap despite of above-average education in adults with ASD without intellectual disability in Germany: a cross-sectional study
By Julia Espeloer et. al
Main Takeaway: The study highlights the significant challenges individuals with ASD face in accessing and maintaining employment, particularly for those without intellectual disabilities, despite their relatively high educational attainment, indicating a need for tailored employment support and awareness-raising strategies.
How Do Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder Participate in the Labor Market? A German Multicenter Survey
By Tolou Maslahati et. al
Main Takeaway: The study investigates the integration of adults with ASD) into the German labor market, revealing higher education levels but lower employment rates compared to the general population, underscoring the necessity for vocational support policies for this demographic.
Success Factors Enabling Employment for Adults on the Autism Spectrum from Employers’ Perspective
By Jessica Dreaver et. al
Main Takeaway: This study explores insights from stakeholders, such as employers and service providers, across Australia and Sweden, highlighting the importance of holistic support strategies, including employer understanding of ASD, to facilitate successful employment outcomes.
Sex differences in employment and supports for adults with autism spectrum disorder
By Julie Lounds Taylor et. al
Main Takeaway: This study reveals comparable employment rates between males and females among adults with ASD, though females were more likely to cite voluntary withdrawal as a reason for unemployment, with males receiving more benefits or family support despite similar rates of receipt between genders.
Evaluation of employment-support services for adults with autism spectrum disorder
By David B Nicholas et. al
Main Takeaway: This study found that support personnel and individuals with ASD and their families see the quality and impact of employment-support services differently, suggesting a need to improve ASD vocational support and develop integrated programs to address existing insufficiencies and guide future program development.
Education and employment status of adults with autism spectrum disorders in Germany – a cross-sectional-survey
By Fabian Frank et. al
Main Takeaway: This study investigated the employment status, occupation type, and level of education in a sample of adults with ASD in Germany, revealing significant challenges in labor market participation despite high formal qualifications, suggesting a need for employment support programs.
Workplace accommodations for adults with autism spectrum disorder: a scoping review
By Ghaidaa Khalifa et. al
Main Takeaway: The study reviewed effective workplace tactics for individuals with ASD, such as minimizing distractions and noise, providing predictable job tasks, and emphasized the significance of environmental factors, including technology, in enhancing performance and work satisfaction, alongside the crucial role of employer and co-worker support in fostering a positive work atmosphere.
Employment profiles of autistic adults in Australia
By Madeleine Harvery et. al
Main Takeaway: This study utilized data from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Autism in Adulthood to examine employment patterns and factors influencing employment outcomes for adults with ASD aged 25 and older, revealing higher rates of part-time work and underemployment compared to the general Australian workforce, with findings indicating that interventions focusing on workplace adjustments, supportive environments, and social support could enhance employment prospects for those with ASD.
Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum and Early Employment-Related Experiences: Aspirations and Obstacles
By Connie Anderson, Catherine Butt & Clare Sarsony
Main Takeaway: This qualitative study investigated employment expectations and experiences of young adults with ASD and their parents in the US, revealing the challenges in finding and maintaining jobs and differing roles and perspectives between parents and young adults, emphasizing the importance of fostering pre-employment opportunities, providing ASD-specific workplace support, and coordinating various systems to enhance employment outcomes.
A Conflict of Interests: A Motivational Perspective on Special Interests and Employment Success of Adults with ASD
By Yael Goldfarb, Eynat Gal & Ofer Golan
Main Takeaway: Matching special interests with job opportunities for adults with ASD potentially oversimplifies employment needs when factors like job characteristics, labor market demands, and stress from job expectations are overlooked. The researchers use self-determination theory to explore this association and offer recommendations for future research and vocational rehabilitation practices.
Development, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of an employment-related social skills intervention for young adults with high-functioning autism
By Connie Sung et. al
Main Takeaway: This article describes an 8-week intervention, Assistive Soft Skills and Employment Training, designed to improve work-related social skills for young adults with high-functioning ASD, showing significant improvements in social skills knowledge and functioning, as well as high satisfaction among participants and facilitators, suggesting potential benefits for employability and social engagement in this group.
Critical Reflections on Employment Among Autistic Adults
By David B. Nicholas and Malvina Klag
Main Takeaway: This perspectives piece acknowledges recent efforts to enhance employment opportunities for adults with ASD while urging the field to focus on nurturing long-term success and expanding employment readiness efforts by establishing independent community employment support and prioritizing individuals’ overall quality of life and vocational stability over the course of their lives.
Autistic Employees’ Technology-Based Workplace Accommodation Preferences Survey—Preliminary Findings
By Michał T. Tomczak and Paweł Ziemianski
Main Takeaway: Limiting overstimulation, creating flexible working time, offering job coaching, remote work, and electronic-mediated communication has shown to have a potential for improving working conditions and well-being.
Workplace Adjustments for Autistic Employees: What is ‘Reasonable’?
By Stephanie Petty et. al
Main Takeaway: There is inadequate support for autistic adults in the workplace. Accommodations that would positively impact autistic employees' well-being and work outputs would be recommending autism awareness training, low-stimulus workspaces, clear instructions, and flexible working hours.
Other Notable Articles
OPEN OFFICE: What happens when people who have trouble fitting into a traditional workplace get one designed just for them?
By Susan Dominus
Main Takeaway: The New York Times article describes the challenges faced by autistic individuals in traditional workplaces and mentions Auticon, a company that prioritizes accommodating its employees on the spectrum, providing insights into the benefits of creating a supportive work environment tailored to the needs of neurodiverse individuals.
The Range Of Careers Options For Autistic Individuals
By Jennifer Jay Palumbo
Main Takeaway: This Forbes article shows how companies can benefit significantly from hiring autistic individuals while also emphasizing what is needed to effectively support and integrate those with ASD into the workforce.
Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage
By Robert D. Austin and Gary P. Pisano
Main Takeaway: The article highlights the benefits of hiring neurodiverse talent, such as those with autism spectrum disorder and dyslexia, for companies like SAP, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, and Microsoft, emphasizing the need for HR reforms to access their extraordinary skills, including pattern recognition and mathematics, with recommendations for effective implementation.
The Impenetrable Autistic Glass Ceiling: Rethinking Workplace Inclusivity
By Gentry Hanks
Main Takeaway: There is an urgent need for organizations to foster inclusive workplaces that value and support the unique perspectives and contributions of autistic individuals. If managers cultivate an environment that respects and embraces uniqueness, every employee can make meaningful contributions, thereby enabling companies to harness the benefits of workplace productivity, efficiency, and profitability while fostering a more equitable society.
Autism Doesn’t Hold People Back at Work. Discrimination Does.
By Ludmila N. Praslova
Main Takeaway: This article predicts the improved productivity potential of neurodivergent individuals in suitable job roles and offers strategies for them to navigate workplace challenges, including embracing self-disclosure, defining personal career success, utilizing job crafting, seeking purpose at work through ERGs, and learning to navigate office politics effectively.
