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Matching Interests Key to Successful Employment for People with Autism
From my perspective, people with autism need to find ways to get into work that they can enjoy with great happiness. I managed to enjoy working at a childcare center because it was a place that matched my interest in working with children. So maybe if people with autism find jobs that are...
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Social Skills Intervention: A Key Piece of the Employment Puzzle
For the one-year period between April 2020 and March 2021, unemployment rates for people with disabilities in New York State averaged 16.2 percent, an increase of 8.9 percent over the prior year, according to the state Department of Labor’s Division of Research and Statistics. This rate is...
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How Practicing and Building Interview Skills Can Help Individuals with ASD Feel Less Overwhelmed
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 54 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (CDC, 2020). Since there is no evidence to suggest that the prevalence of ASD will decrease, the need for transitional services, especially those related to...
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Networking for Good
Most people find employment opportunities through a network of people they know, and it is well documented that professional networking is an important investment in time to begin and grow one’s career (Augustine, Top Resume). In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that “85% of...
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Taking a Person-Centered Approach to Teaching Meaningful Employment Skills
A person-centered approach is vital for providing effective employment training for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In an effort to capture the experiences of those who have received employment training, we conducted interviews with three members of the Devereux Pennsylvania...
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Disclosing Autism During an Interview
A question that is widely debated in the Autism community is whether a prospective employee should disclose during the interview process they are autistic (I use identity first language). Opinions vary on this topic. It is my opinion that the comfort level the interviewee has is a determining...
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A Bridge to Employment
As a student’s remaining time in high school dwindles down to a year or two, school district personnel are challenged to meet the expectations of both students and parents regarding life after high school. Post-secondary education transition brings its own set of challenges while employment...
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Engagement in Special Interests Influences Well-Being and Provides Employment Opportunities in Neurodiverse Individuals
A brief note on the terminology used in this article: While people should practice sensitivity towards various opinions, many adults on the autism spectrum have disclosed the preference of identity-first language over person-first language (Botha et al., 2020). Thus, identity-first language, such...
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The Key to True Success in College and Beyond
Success in college is not guaranteed, especially for autistic students. About 60% of full-time undergraduates receive a bachelor’s degree within 6 years of beginning college at a four-year institution (National Center for Education Statistics, 2020). Only 36% of young adults on the autism...
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Doin’ It My Autistic Way: Why Being Self-Employed Was the Logical Solution for Me
Ah, the wonderful world of work. It’s a marvel, isn’t it? The way we have all indirectly given up our individual freedoms in hot pursuit of the all mighty dollar. The way we semiconsciously reorder our priorities to accommodate all the time and energy this pursuit demands. The years spent...
