There is a large and growing population of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are of employable age; yet, a disproportionate number of this population is unemployed or under-employed. The discrepancy is present even with individuals who have the skills and training for employment in skilled settings. However, little is known about what facilitates skilled employment for individuals who have potential for success. This project's long-term goal is to develop effective interventions for obtaining and sustaining successful employment for people on the autism spectrum, including those seeking skilled jobs. In order to create such an intervention, we need more information about what makes skilled employment successful or unsuccessful. Therefore the short-term goal of this project is to use a community based participatory research (CBPR) approach to conduct a qualitative study of autistic employees in skilled positions, their employers, and key informants from within the broader employment system to understand their experiences and ideas for change. Our CBPR team, the Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE) is well-positioned to complete this research with our decade of experience co-conducting research and intervention development with people on the autism spectrum, academic researchers, clinicians, disability professionals, and family members. We will work together to meet the following specific aims: 1) To understand the perspectives of employees on the autism spectrum and their employers, supervisors, or employment support providers who have had a self-identified successful experience in skilled labor, including barriers and facilitators, ways in which autism characteristics help or hinder, and contributing environmental or personal factors. 2) To identify areas of systemic leverage in skilled or professional settings, or in the systems surrounding those settings (e.g., vocational rehabilitation, education or training centers) that could inform an effective intervention. 3) To develop a concrete, specific intervention plan, in collaboration with key stakeholders. 4) To build increased competence in the domain of ASD and employment for our CBPR team. We will achieve these aims in three phases. Phase 1: Co-create consent materials, interview guides, and study protocols with our CBPR team. Phase 2: Conduct 50 semi-structured interviews with individuals on the autism spectrum and their employers, and 10 with key informants from larger employment systems. Phase 3: Collaboratively analyze and interpret interview data and create our theoretical model. Phase 4: Convene an intervention workgroup to identify potential strategies, develop our intervention plan, and obtain feedback from potential intervention targets. We will then use the data, model, and intervention plan from this pilot study to apply for an NIMH R34 grant to implement and test an intervention to improve skilled employment outcomes for individuals on the autism spectrum.
This research addresses the significant issue of unemployment and underemployment among people who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. This is an area that has been identified as a high priority in public health by the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee within the Department of Health and Human Services, and by the National Institute of Mental Health. This project will yield critical data for informing interventions to improve employment outcomes for people on the autism spectrum.
