Employment and Career Development Among Autistic Adults: Self and Caregiver Perceptions.

Abstract

Background: The number of autistic individuals seeking employment has been rising, but many autistic individuals struggle to achieve optimal employment outcomes. Workplace barriers (e.g., insufficient on-the-job training) have impacted the ability of autistic adults to obtain and maintain employment. Drawing from neurodiversity-affirming practices to highlight the unique strengths that each autistic adult can bring to the workplace, we examined autistic interns and their caregivers' perspectives regarding employment and career development.

Methods: Within the context of the 2021 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related summer internship, researchers conducted individual interviews lasting approximately 45-60 minutes with 14 autistic interns and 17 caregivers. Researchers audio-recorded and transcribed each interview verbatim and then used a theme-based coding approach and achieved interrater agreement, with pooled Cohen's kappa values ranging from 0.86 to 1.00.

Results: Our findings indicated that autistic interns generally felt they experienced difficulty securing full-time, long-term paid positions. Despite previous jobs often not aligning with their interests, interns expressed strong motivation to obtain positions driven by their passions and goals. Although interns faced job access challenges due to a lack of relevant educational background or work experience, their strengths, such as persistence in performing job duties, could support them in obtaining and maintaining employment. Caregivers also expressed concerns about interns finding suitable employment. They felt that previous jobs did not align with the interns' skills and believed that recognizing the interns' potential and capabilities could help them thrive.

Conclusions: Our findings suggested that employers should acknowledge the strengths of each autistic individual, as they can bring value to the workplace. Highlighting the unique characteristics of autistic individuals and creating more inclusive workplaces can help autistic individuals fulfill their potential. Researchers discuss implications for potential employers and the neurodivergent community.

Community brief: Why is this an important issue?: Autistic individuals possess a sense of self-worth, along with strengths and skills that can add value to the workplace and should be recognized by employers. However, employers and workplaces have not provided optimal employment opportunities for this population. By listening to autistic interns' perspectives on obtaining and maintaining employment, we sought to better understand these issues, aiming to inform ways to improve employment outcomes for autistic individuals.What was the purpose of this study?: We aimed to understand the experiences of autistic interns related to obtaining and maintaining jobs. Specifically, we wanted to know what kinds of jobs autistic interns had in the past, what problems they faced in getting and keeping those jobs, and the strengths they believed they possessed. We also looked into what they hoped for in future jobs, such as the kind of work they want to do and the skills necessary for those jobs.What did the researchers do?: We conducted one-on-one interviews with 14 autistic interns and 17 caregivers, transcribed each interview, and looked for common themes related to autistic interns' employment experiences and career development.What were the results of this study?: Three key themes developed from our interview data. First, the interns in our study held a variety of jobs, but predominantly in blue-collar roles that they and their caregivers felt did not align with their interests and career aspirations. Second, despite the interns' efforts to find meaningful and suitable jobs, they encountered limited opportunities, including high standards for entry-level positions. Additionally, some lacked the educational background required for the jobs they desired. Moreover, the interns often felt they had not received sufficient training and support in the workplace. The third theme revealed that, despite these challenges, the interns expressed a sense of self-worth and highlighted specific strengths and skills that employers should appreciate, such as their self-determination and excellent pattern recognition skills.What do these findings add to what was already known?: Informed by neurodiversity-affirming practices, our findings contribute to the existing knowledge by highlighting the importance of employers understanding the unique characteristics of each autistic individual and providing them with adequate training and support. We emphasize that autistic individuals have strengths and skills that can significantly benefit workplaces when given the opportunity to showcase their abilities. Our study reveals that despite facing obstacles in obtaining and maintaining employment, autistic interns showed great determination in their job search and remained optimistic, actively taking steps to achieve their career goals.What are potential weaknesses in the study?: Our study had a small sample size and lacked diversity, and we only examined a group of autistic adults participating in a STEM-related internship. These limitations may reduce the applicability of the findings to other autistic individuals.How will these findings help autistic adults now or in the future?: Our findings may help employers understand the needs of autistic individuals so that they can be better supported in the workplace. Employers can adjust based on autistic individuals' strengths to help them succeed. Hearing about qualifications for certain jobs can also motivate autistic individuals to set goals to meet those requirements.