A repeated cross-sectional study of daily activities of autistic adults.
Autistic adults keep the same daily routines, but far too few hold jobs, especially women, so start vocational planning in the teen years.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked autistic adults what they do each day.
They used the same survey three years in a row.
Answers showed who works, who studies, and who stays home.
What they found
Most autistic adults stayed in the same activity year to year.
Yet fewer held jobs than same-age adults in the country.
Women with autism were less employed than men, copying the national gap.
How this fits with other research
Hamama et al. (2021) asked which community tasks autistic adults value. Grocery shopping topped the list. The new data tell us how often those valued tasks happen.
Feng et al. (2025) found autistic women without ID feel less satisfied with social life. Andrews et al. (2024) show the same group also lags in jobs. Together they flag a double gap: less work and less joy.
Menezes et al. (2025) tracked teens and saw only 22% had paid work. The adult survey shows the gap never closes, proving the leak starts early and stays.
Why it matters
You now know employment drops begin before 18 and harden by 25. When you write transition plans, push for paid work experience in high school. Add extra checks for women clients; they face both job and social shortfalls. Target vocational goals early to bend the curve shown in these numbers.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
It is crucial to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the types of daily activities autistic adults typically engage in. However, previous research has almost exclusively focused on vocational or education activities. Further, it remains unclear how and whether specific daily activities participation rates change proportionally over time, vary by gender, or compare to nationally representative data. Utilizing eight annual data waves from the Netherlands Autism Register (NAR) this study aims to bridge this gap. Participants were 2449 autistic adults who indicated their participation in 18 daily activities. Results suggest that autistic adults engaged most frequently in vocational activities (e.g., paid employment, study) and participation rates were stable over time. Participation rates in non-vocational activities (e.g., hobbies, homemaking) fluctuated proportionally over time, with reports of no structured daytime activities reducing over time. Labor force participation amongst NAR participants was significantly lower than Dutch population data for the same time periods. Unemployment rates fluctuated, and were significantly higher than population data, but not for all time points. Females compared to males were overrepresented in unpaid daily activities (e.g., study, volunteer, housemaker) and work incapacitation, and underrepresented in paid employment. Employment differences in gender corresponded to national data. These findings characterize more clearly the daily activities of autistic adults, and highlights areas where support may have greater impact (e.g., females in employment).
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2024 · doi:10.1002/aur.3135