Work Participation of Autistic Adolescents.

Menezes et al. (2025) asked teens about paid jobs. They compared autistic youth to typically developing peers and to teens with other neurodevelopmental disorders. The survey covered age, family income, intellectual disability, and autism severity.

Only 22% of autistic teens had ever earned a paycheck. Nearly half of typical teens (49%) and 44% of other-neurodevelopmental teens had worked. Younger age, lower income, intellectual disability, and higher autism severity each lowered the odds further.

Myers et al. (2015) saw the slide start earlier: community participation for autistic youth dropped from 63% to 46% between adolescence and adulthood. Shawler et al. (2021) found the steepest loss of structured weekday activities happens in the same high-school years. Andrews et al. (2024) show the gap hardens in adulthood—vocational participation stays low. Together the papers trace a single line: autistic teens leave high school with little work experience and the gap persists for life.

If only one in five autistic teens ever gets paid, your transition plan needs a job goal, not just a diploma. Start early: build a resume before age 16, use summer jobs, school-based enterprises, and paid internships. Track hours and pay stubs as data. The earlier the work history, the better the adult outcome.