Project SEARCH for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Increasing Competitive Employment Opportunities Post-High School

Background: The transition of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from school to adulthood is an increasing dilemma (Wehman, Smith and Schall, 2009). Thousands of children being identified with ASD nationally each year and as these children become adolescents there is greater need to identify meaningful transition services to postsecondary situations in the community, family and work for these students. Consistent with an ASD diagnosis most of these students present unique strengths as well as challenging social and communication disorders. The challenge for teachers and parents is to match the strengths of young people with ASD to work and community environments where they can succeed.

Objectives:  In a recent study, Shattuck (2010) examined patterns of service use among youth with ASD from the NLTS2 sample. Data on youth who exited high school revealed that 32% attended postsecondary education schools, 6% had competitive jobs, and 21% had no employment or education experiences at all. Further, 80% of these individuals were living with their parents, 40% reported having no friends, and only 36% had a driver's license. Thus, the transition needs of this group of students require further study.

 Methods: The present study examines the effectiveness of Project SEARCH, a model transition program for adolescents with ASD utilizing supports specific to students with ASD include providing intensive instruction in social, communication and job skills, work routine and structure, and visual supports.
This study presents the first 2 years findings from the implementation of Project SEARCH for high school seniors with ASD in an Urban Hospital using a randomized controlled trial. To date, there has been a diverse group of 14 high school seniors ages 18 to 22 enrolled in the treatment group and 10 students enrolled in the control group.

Results: The outcomes for the first two years of this ongoing study reveal a 100% employment rate of those in the treatment group and a 0% employment rate for the non-intervention control group.

Conclusions:

The following with be discussed to support the findings of the effects of this model on employment opportunities for adolescents with ASD: a) present the components of Project SEARCH and how they were adapted for youth with ASD in a model program, b) describe the problem-solving approach we used when implementing Project SEARCH for youth with ASD, and c) qualitative examination of outcomes for a sample of students with ASD and their internships.

Demographic	Treatment Group – N = 14	Control Group – N = 10
Age	19.2 years	18.9 years
Gender	0.71 Males	0.75 male
Race	0.42 African American 0.58 Caucasian	0.39 African American 0.61 Caucasian
ASD Diagnosis	0.50 Autism 0.21 Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified 0.28 Aspergers Disorder	0.4 Autism 0.3 Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified 0.2 Aspergers Disorder
Employment Status
Demographic	Treatment Group – N = 14	Control Group – N = 10
Graduation	1.00 Employed	0.00 Employed
3 months post Graduation	1.00 Employed	0.00 Employed
1 year post Graduation	0.92 Employed	0.00 Employed