Education and Employment Experiences of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Individual and Parent Perspectives

Background: Follow-up studies of adolescents and adults with an ASD show that they have poor long-term outcomes with particular problems in the areas of friendship, living arrangement outcomes, and employment, even when tertiary qualifications are obtained. Despite this, a significant portion of ASD individuals do achieve positive long-term outcomes. Factors that may account for variations within groups of individuals with autism and contribute to their successful adaptation are currently largely unexplored and poorly understood.

Objectives:  The aim was to identify the factors associated with positive and negative outcomes in relation to education and employment in adults with ASD, from the perspective of both adults and parents.

Methods: The results presented here are a part of an ongoing project where individuals with ASD and their parents were invited to complete a qualitative online survey looking at the education and employment experiences of individuals with ASD.  To date, 44 individuals (25 individuals with ASD and 19 parents) have completed the survey.  Data collection is on-going till the end of 2014.

Results: The mean age of parents was 47.3 (SD=8.9) and adults with ASD was 40.5 (SD=13.4).  60% of adults and 89% of parents reported they/their children have experienced challenges during education.  Anxiety, poor social skills and difficulties interacting with others, and bullying were the most important challenges reported by both adults with ASD and their parents.  In addition to these, the other challenge mentioned by parents was having unsupportive teachers or schools being unsupportive.  Majority of adults and parents agreed having supportive and understanding teachers was the most helpful during education.  60% of adults with ASD have experienced challenges in finding employment and 40% of those reported the inability to succeed in interviews as the greatest challenge in finding employment, which was mirrored in parental reports.  Some of the factors that helped adults in finding employment were having contacts to put in a good word, having skills and capabilities, being well prepared for interviews, doing volunteer work, maintaining persistence and positive outlook, and accepting positions that the individual is over-qualified for.  52% of adults and 33% of parents reported they/their children have experienced challenges in keeping a job.  The greatest challenges experienced by adults were workplace bullying, difficulties in maintaining psychological health, juggling social demands outside of job description, and dealing with colleagues/customers.  Parents identified unsupportive employers/colleagues and ignorance of others as greatest challenges for individuals with ASD for keeping a job.  Parents also identified the following factors associated with the individuals with ASD themselves: taking the wrong initiatives, lacking accountability, having poor emotion regulation, and being taken advantage of at work.  Many of the adults and parents believed having supportive work environment/managers/colleagues helped adults keep their jobs. 

Conclusions:  The results of this study indicate key individual and environmental factors associated with positive and negative educational and employment outcomes for adults with ASD.  Although preliminary, these results suggest future directions for intervention research that focus on modifying the factors to improve outcomes for individuals with ASD.