Research summaries for autism therapy: employment

definition of employment: When someone is hired for a job and paid to perform tasks.

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With on-the-job support, adults with autism can do well at vocational rehabilitation service jobs.

This study looked at job success for adults (18-65 years old) who worked in the U.S. Vocational Rehabilitation Service. There were 382,221 adults in this program in 2005, and 1,707 of them were diagnosed with autism. The adults with autism were given the most expensive support services while working. Intervention included job coaching, follow-up, and job retention services. At the end of their program, 42% of adults with autism were employed in a competitive job, 2% were working in a sheltered setting, and 56% were not employed. Adults with autism had higher success rates than adults with other disabilities. The success of employment was higher with more on-the-job support. Read more...

While adults with autism may hold jobs, they tend to work fewer hours and earn less in wages than people with other disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to explore both the costs of services received by adults with autism and the outcomes that these adults achieve as a result of the services/costs. The study found that the number of adults with autism increased every year of the study (2002-2006). The costs of services acquired by adults with autism were higher than most other people served by vocational rehabilitation. The cost of serving people with autism seems to have decreased with time, despite the increase in people with autism (2002-2006). Outcomes for adults with autism were mixed. Read more...

Jobs (work therapy) may help adults with autism get smarter.

This study was designed to see if people with autism have higher cognitive function after three years of working at a job (supported employment program). The authors found that people with autism who were given a cognitive test scored higher on the test after three years of working at a job. People with autism who were not given a job did not score higher on the cognitive test after three years of not working. Thus, training for a job and working at a job can help the brain to work better. The study had only 44 adults. Read more...

Individuals with autism can be good at entry-level jobs.

This study looked to see whether a two-year job support program was able to help adults with autism. They found that the job support program increased employment rates and income for people with autism. The employers gave the workers with autism high scores for many job skills. The workers with autism said that they were happy with their jobs and agreed that their jobs were useful. The authors note that more time should be spent helping workers with autism to befriend co-workers. Read more...

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