Factors associated with participation in employment for high school leavers with autism.

Hsu-Hu et al. (2013) looked back at a big national survey of students with autism who had just left high school.

They wanted to know which things made it more likely that a student would get a job.

They checked family income, parent education, social skills, IQ level, diploma status, and help from school staff.

Schools that called employers or vocational programs for the student doubled the chance of paid work.

Career counseling at school also pushed employment odds up.

Higher family income, better social skills, and earning a diploma helped too.

Turk et al. (2010) extends this idea. They showed that adding a simple iPhone cue app to job training let five of six young adults master a 63-step mascot job.

The 2013 paper says "reach out to employers," and the 2010 paper shows one cheap tool that makes the outreach stick.

Zwiya et al. (2023) looks at parents who give up on the job market and create a business for their adult child with ID. Their stories match the 2013 finding: when schools fail to connect students to work, families find their own fix.

You can copy the two moves that matter: schedule career counseling before graduation and have staff phone local employers or vocational rehab.

One call can double the odds your student lands a pay-check. Start a list of three local bosses who already hire neuro-diverse workers and call them this week.