Do sheltered workshops enhance employment outcomes for adults with autism spectrum disorder?
Sheltered workshops leave adults with autism earning less and costing more—go straight to supported employment instead.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Evert and colleagues tracked adults with autism who used sheltered workshops before looking for regular jobs. They compared wages and service costs to adults who skipped the workshops and went straight to supported employment.
The study used state vocational-rehab records. It was not a true experiment, but the groups looked alike in age and disability level.
What they found
Adults who spent time in sheltered workshops earned lower wages and needed more expensive services later. There was no job-placement benefit from the workshop experience.
In short, the workshop detour cost more and paid less.
How this fits with other research
The result lines up with a 1987 study by L et al. that found every dollar spent on supported competitive employment returns about $1.90 for adults with intellectual disability.
Mavranezouli et al. (2014) showed the same pattern in the UK: supported employment costs little extra and can save money when all services are counted.
Fedoroff et al. (2016) pushed the idea further. Their customized supported employment got 98% of adults with autism into competitive jobs, no sheltered step needed.
Taken together, these studies build a clear chain: skip the workshop, save money, and land real jobs.
Why it matters
If you write adult-transition plans or approve vocational goals, treat sheltered workshops as a red flag. Push for immediate supported employment or programs like Project SEARCH plus ASD Supports, which gave 90% of youth with autism competitive jobs within three months. Use the cost data when you need to justify the service: the same money that funds a workshop slot can fund a job coach who gets the client hired in the community.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study investigated whether sheltered workshops help prepare individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for competitive employment within the community. Two groups of individuals were compared: (a) 215 supported employees who were in sheltered workshops prior to entering supported employment and (b) 215 supported employees who were not in sheltered workshops. Individuals from both groups were matched based on their primary diagnosis, secondary diagnosis (if present), and gender. Results showed that there were no differences in rates of employment between these two groups. However, individuals who participated in sheltered workshops earned significantly less (US$129.36 versus US$191.42 per week), and cost significantly more to serve (US$6,065.08 versus US$2,440.60), than their non-sheltered workshop peers. Results presented here suggest that individuals with ASD achieve better vocational outcomes if they do not participate in sheltered workshops prior to enrolling in supported employment.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2012 · doi:10.1177/1362361311408129