Employment outcomes of transition-aged adults with autism spectrum disorders: a state of the States report.
Vocational rehab opens the door to work for autistic adults, but only strong job placement plus on-site support turns that door into a real job.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Burgess et al. (2014) looked at ten years of U.S. vocational rehab data. They asked how many transition-age adults with autism used VR and what jobs they got.
The team counted services, wages, and hours worked. They compared autistic clients to the whole VR caseload.
What they found
More autistic adults entered VR and found jobs than other disability groups. Yet they worked fewer hours and earned lower pay than peers.
These gaps stayed flat across the decade. More services did not lead to better jobs.
How this fits with other research
Cimera et al. (2009) saw the same wage problem five years earlier. The pattern has not moved.
Ohan et al. (2015) dug deeper into the same data. They found transition-age clients use the most services yet have the worst outcomes. This seems to clash with Sloane’s upbeat entry rate. The twist: autistic youth enter VR more, but the jobs they land are still part-time and low-pay.
Sung et al. (2015) show a path forward. Job placement plus on-the-job supports predicted work for both males and females. Adding counseling and job-search help boosted odds further for males.
Wehman et al. (2014) tested Supported Employment for 23,000 transition-age youth with IDD, including autism. Competitive work rose when job coaches stayed on site after hire.
Why it matters
You can stop hoping that more VR services alone will fix employment. Focus your referrals on packages that include real job placement and follow-along coaching. Track hours and wage growth, not just job starts. Push for Supported Employment models that keep staff at the workplace after day one.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the employment outcomes of transition-aged adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) served by vocational rehabilitation services (VR) over the last 10 years by state. A secondary purpose was to compare employment outcomes of individuals with ASD to those of the overall transition-aged population served by VR for the same time period. Although there was variability both within and among states, the results of this study indicate that, over time, the number of young adults with ASD seeking VR services has increased; however, employment outcomes including the percent of adults with ASD achieving employment, the number of hours worked, and wages earned have not improved for this group. The cost to provide VR services to transition-aged adults with ASD was relatively stable over time. Transition-aged adults with ASD were more likely to become successfully employed as a result of receiving VR services than the overall population of transition-aged adults served by VR. However, the employed transition-aged adults consistently worked fewer hours and earned lower wages than those in the overall population. Factors that may influence variability within and among states, and between groups, and implications for research and practice are discussed.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2014 · doi:10.1352/1944-7558-119.1.64