Employment and choice-making for adults with intellectual disability, autism, and down syndrome.
Daily choice-making predicts real paid employment for adults with ID, autism, or Down syndrome.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked the adults with intellectual disability, autism, or Down syndrome how much choice they have each day.
They also recorded who had a real paid job in the community.
Then they ran stats to see if more choice predicted real work.
What they found
People who said 'I get lots of choices' were far more likely to have a paid job.
The link held for all three diagnoses.
Choice remained a strong predictor even after age, IQ, and living setting were controlled.
How this fits with other research
Boudreau et al. (2015) showed that typical kids will work for choice itself, but only when the prizes stay equal.
Bassett-Gunter et al. (2017) moves that idea into the real world: adults with ID/ASD/DS turn daily choice into competitive jobs.
Matson et al. (2009) found that early persistence predicts later school success in Down syndrome; the new paper says adult choice predicts job success in the same population.
Together the studies form a life-span thread: teach choice early, keep it equal, and it may snowball into vocational payoff.
Why it matters
If you run day-hab or job training, build in micro-choices before work starts: pick the apron color, the task order, or the break song.
These tiny reps can add up to the big outcome measured here—an adult with ID, autism, or Down syndrome cashing a real paycheck.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Adults with disabilities are employed at a significantly lower rate than adults without disabilities. Of adults with disabilities in the workforce, more individuals work in a facility setting rather than a community setting, despite efforts to improve community inclusion. Choice-making has been proposed as a predictive factor for employment for individuals with disabilities. AIMS: The purpose of this research was to examine the current state of employment for three groups of adults with intellectual disability (ID): individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), individuals with Down syndrome (DS), and individuals with idiopathic ID. Choice-making and its relation to improved employment outcomes was explored. METHODS: This study used National Core Indicator's Adult Consumer Survey datasets from years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. Factor analyses revealed latent variables from six choice-making questions in the Adult Consumer Survey. Ordinal logistic regression was used to identify factors related to employment status. RESULTS: Adults with DS had the highest rates of paid community jobs, but adults with ID had the highest rates of choice-making. ID severity level and short-term choice-making had the greatest effects on employment status in all three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Employment rates remain low despite national efforts to find jobs for people with disabilities. Choice-making is a unique factor that was found to be associated with employment status and provides a target for interventions to increase employability.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2017 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2017.04.004