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Wehman P, Brooke V, Brooke AM, Ham W, Schall C, McDonough J, Lau S, Seward H, Avellone L. Employment for adults with autism spectrum disorders: A retrospective review of a customized employment approach. Res Dev Disabil 2016; 53-54:61-72. [PMID: 26855048 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2016.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2015] [Revised: 01/14/2016] [Accepted: 01/21/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Over the past few decades, there has been an increase in prevalence of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and those children are now becoming young adults in need of competitive integrated employment (CIE). Customized employment (CE) is one pathway to employment that has been successful for other individuals with developmental disabilities (DD), though research has been very limited on the effectiveness with individuals with ASD. This paper provides a retrospective review of 64 individuals with ASD who came to our program from 2009 to 2014 for supported employment services as referred by the state vocational rehabilitation services agency. Employment specialists engaged in situational assessment, discovery, job development, customized job descriptions, on-site training and support, positive behavioral supports, and job retention techniques. The employment specialists were responsible for tracking their actual time spent working directly with or for the jobseeker with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). All vocational rehabilitation clients with ASD served during this time successfully secured CIE, and maintained their employment with ongoing supports, with intensity of support time decreasing over time. The majority (63/64, 98.4%) of individuals successfully secured CIE through the use of supported employment, in 72 unique employment positions. Of the majority of the individuals who secured employment, 77% (50) individuals indicated that they had never worked before and additional 18% (12) reported having short intermittent histories of employment. Despite this lack of employment experience, in all cases the jobseeker directed the job search and ultimately the job selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Wehman
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, 1314 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284, USA.
| | - Valerie Brooke
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, 1314 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284, USA.
| | - Alissa Molinelli Brooke
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, 1314 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284, USA.
| | - Whitney Ham
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, 1314 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284, USA.
| | - Carol Schall
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, 1314 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284, USA.
| | - Jennifer McDonough
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, 1314 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284, USA.
| | - Stephanie Lau
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, 1314 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284, USA.
| | - Hannah Seward
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, 1314 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284, USA.
| | - Lauren Avellone
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, 1314 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284, USA.
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