School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Curtin Autism Research Group, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Autism Res. 2020 Jul;13(7):1195-1214. doi: 10.1002/aur.2288. Epub 2020 Mar 14.
Employment rates for autistic individuals are poor, even compared to those from other disability groups. Internationally, there remains limited understanding of the factors influencing employment across the stages of preparing for, gaining, and maintaining employment. This is the third in a series of studies conducted as part of an International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) policy brief intended to improve employment outcomes for autistic individuals. A multi-informant international survey with five key stakeholder groups, including autistic individuals, their families, employers, service providers, and researchers, was undertaken in Australia, Sweden, and the United States to understand the facilitators and barriers to employment for autistic adults. A total of 687 individuals participated, including autistic individuals (n = 246), family members (n = 233), employers (n = 35), clinicians/service providers (n = 123), and researchers (n = 50). Perceptions of the facilitators and barriers to employment differed significantly across both key stakeholder groups and countries, however, ensuring a good job match and focusing on strengths were identified by all groups as important for success. Key barriers to employment included stigma, a lack of understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and communication difficulties. Results suggest that a holistic approach to employment for autistic individuals is required, aimed at facilitating communication between key stakeholders, addressing attitudes and understanding of ASD in the workplace, using strength-based approaches and providing early work experience. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1195-1214. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Autistic individuals experience significant difficulty getting and keeping a job. This article presents a survey study involving autistic individuals, their families, employers, service providers and researchers in Australia, Sweden, and the United States to understand their perspectives on the factors that support or act as barriers to employment. While perspectives varied across key stakeholders, strategies such as using a holistic approach, targeting workplace attitudes and understanding, focusing on strengths, and providing early work experience are important for success.
自闭症患者的就业率很低，即使与其他残疾群体相比也是如此。在国际上，对于影响自闭症患者就业准备、获得和维持就业各个阶段的因素的理解仍然有限。这是作为自闭症研究国际协会 (INSAR) 政策简报的一部分进行的一系列研究中的第三项，旨在改善自闭症患者的就业结果。在澳大利亚、瑞典和美国，对五个主要利益相关者群体（包括自闭症患者、他们的家人、雇主、服务提供商和研究人员）进行了一项多信息来源的国际调查，以了解自闭症成年人就业的促进因素和障碍。共有 687 人参与，包括自闭症患者（n=246）、家庭成员（n=233）、雇主（n=35）、临床医生/服务提供商（n=123）和研究人员（n=50）。利益相关者群体和国家对就业促进因素和障碍的看法存在显著差异，但所有群体都认为确保良好的工作匹配和关注优势对于成功很重要。就业的主要障碍包括污名化、对自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的理解不足和沟通困难。结果表明，需要对自闭症患者的就业采取整体方法，旨在促进主要利益相关者之间的沟通，解决工作场所对 ASD 的态度和理解问题，采用基于优势的方法，并提供早期工作经验。Autism Res 2020, 13: 1195-1214. © 2020 国际自闭症研究协会，Wiley 期刊，公司。
