A pilot study of PEERS® for Careers: A comprehensive employment-focused social skills intervention for autistic young adults in the United States.
A short caregiver-assisted PEERS course lifted job-social knowledge in autistic young adults, echoing past social PEERS wins but needing longer follow-up to prove real hire rates.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lee et al. (2022) tested a new 10-week program called PEERS for Careers.
The team worked with autistic young adults who wanted jobs.
They used behavioral skills training: explain, model, practice, and feedback.
Caregivers joined half of the sessions to coach networking and interview skills.
Before and after, staff asked how ready people felt for workplace social life.
What they found
Knowledge of job-related social rules went up.
Participants felt more prepared to talk to bosses and co-workers.
A few more people landed internships or paid work by the end.
No one got worse, and everyone finished the course.
How this fits with other research
The result lines up with three earlier RCTs. Boudreau et al. (2015), Gantman et al. (2012), and Płatos et al. (2022) all showed PEERS boosts social skills in autistic teens and young adults.
Saré et al. (2020) ran a similar job-focused group called JOBSS. Their 45% employment rate at six months looks higher than the small uptick T et al. saw, but JOBSS lasted 15 weeks and lacked caregiver help. The shorter PEERS for Careers may trade speed for depth.
Wyman et al. (2020) found autistic students struggled to use PEERS skills outside class. T et al. did not track on-the-job behavior, so we do not yet know if the career version solves that generalization gap.
Why it matters
You now have a ready-made 10-week curriculum that mixes social skills with job prep and brings parents on board. If you serve autistic adults nearing graduation, you can run PEERS for Careers as a booster right before job fairs. Track who actually gets hired to see if the brief version packs the same punch as longer programs like JOBSS.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Autistic young adults are at elevated risk for poor employment/internship outcomes, despite having many strengths relevant to the workplace. Currently, very few employment interventions for this population comprehensively promote skills development and success across the various stages of employment. AIMS: To address this gap, the current study aimed to test the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a novel college to career intervention program, PEERS® for Careers. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Twelve autistic young adults (19-30 years old) were enrolled and matched to a career coach. The pilot program consisted of 90-minute sessions delivered twice per week, for 10 weeks, covering content relevant to obtaining, maintaining, and thriving in employment/internship settings. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Results indicated that young adults showed a significant improvement in employment-related social skills knowledge, p < .001. Participants also reported significant improvements in their feelings of preparedness for employment over the course of the study, p = .009, with all young adults self-identifying as "somewhat prepared" or "very prepared" post-intervention. Additionally, in only a brief 10-week intervention, a slight increase in participants who secured or maintained internship/employment-related activities was observed. Overall, lesson content and coaching were perceived as helpful. No significant changes were observed in self-reported autism symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: In sum, the PEERS® for Careers program shows promise as a college to career intervention program for autistic young adults. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: There is a dearth of evidence-based interventions for autistic young adults, despite significant need for supports to bolster vocational and relational success. This paper is the first to evaluate the PEERS® for Careers intervention in a pilot study by exploring feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of this novel college to career intervention program, which teaches ecologically valid employment-related skills using a strengths-based approach. Results suggest PEERS® for Careers shows significant potential as a comprehensive intervention to address the multi-faceted needs of autistic individuals in the workplace through didactic lessons, behavioral rehearsals to practice skills, and out of group assignments. Autistic young adult participants reported a high level of satisfaction with the program and lessons surrounding employment-related social skills. They also endorsed increased feelings of internship/employment readiness and increased knowledge of workplace etiquette, with most participants maintaining or securing employment. This study supports PEERS® for Careers as a feasible intervention that likely benefits autistic individuals' vocational outcomes, which emerge as a strong correlate of well-being in adulthood. This work is essential to furthering the development and provision of effective services to meet needs of the autism community.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2022 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104287