UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, USA.
UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, USA.
Res Dev Disabil. 2022 Sep;128:104287. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104287. Epub 2022 Jun 27.
Autistic young adults are at elevated risk for poor employment/internship outcomes, despite having many strengths relevant to the workplace. Currently, very few employment interventions for this population comprehensively promote skills development and success across the various stages of employment.
To address this gap, the current study aimed to test the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a novel college to career intervention program, PEERS® for Careers.
Twelve autistic young adults (19-30 years old) were enrolled and matched to a career coach. The pilot program consisted of 90-minute sessions delivered twice per week, for 10 weeks, covering content relevant to obtaining, maintaining, and thriving in employment/internship settings.
Results indicated that young adults showed a significant improvement in employment-related social skills knowledge, p < .001. Participants also reported significant improvements in their feelings of preparedness for employment over the course of the study, p = .009, with all young adults self-identifying as "somewhat prepared" or "very prepared" post-intervention. Additionally, in only a brief 10-week intervention, a slight increase in participants who secured or maintained internship/employment-related activities was observed. Overall, lesson content and coaching were perceived as helpful. No significant changes were observed in self-reported autism symptomatology.
In sum, the PEERS® for Careers program shows promise as a college to career intervention program for autistic young adults.
There is a dearth of evidence-based interventions for autistic young adults, despite significant need for supports to bolster vocational and relational success. This paper is the first to evaluate the PEERS® for Careers intervention in a pilot study by exploring feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of this novel college to career intervention program, which teaches ecologically valid employment-related skills using a strengths-based approach. Results suggest PEERS® for Careers shows significant potential as a comprehensive intervention to address the multi-faceted needs of autistic individuals in the workplace through didactic lessons, behavioral rehearsals to practice skills, and out of group assignments. Autistic young adult participants reported a high level of satisfaction with the program and lessons surrounding employment-related social skills. They also endorsed increased feelings of internship/employment readiness and increased knowledge of workplace etiquette, with most participants maintaining or securing employment. This study supports PEERS® for Careers as a feasible intervention that likely benefits autistic individuals' vocational outcomes, which emerge as a strong correlate of well-being in adulthood. This work is essential to furthering the development and provision of effective services to meet needs of the autism community.
尽管自闭症青年在工作场所具有许多相关优势，但他们的就业/实习结果仍存在较高风险。目前，很少有针对该人群的就业干预措施能够全面促进技能发展，并在就业的各个阶段取得成功。
为了解决这一差距，本研究旨在测试一种新型的大学到职业干预项目——PEERS® for Careers 的可行性、可接受性和有效性。
12 名自闭症青年（19-30 岁）入组并与职业教练相匹配。该试点项目包括 90 分钟的课程，每周两次，持续 10 周，涵盖与获得、维持和在就业/实习环境中茁壮成长相关的内容。
结果表明，年轻人在就业相关社交技能知识方面有显著提高，p<.001。参与者还报告说，在研究过程中，他们对就业的准备感有显著提高，p=.009，所有年轻人在干预后自我认同为“有一定准备”或“非常有准备”。此外，在仅为期 10 周的干预中，观察到参与者获得或维持实习/就业相关活动的人数略有增加。总的来说，课程内容和指导被认为是有帮助的。自我报告的自闭症症状没有观察到显著变化。
总之，PEERS® for Careers 项目作为自闭症青年的大学到职业干预项目具有很大的潜力。
尽管自闭症青年需要支持来增强职业和人际关系方面的成功，但针对他们的循证干预措施却很少。本文首次通过探索这种新型的大学到职业干预项目的可行性、可接受性和有效性，评估了 PEERS® for Careers 干预措施，该项目使用基于优势的方法教授具有生态效度的就业相关技能。结果表明，PEERS® for Careers 作为一种全面的干预措施，具有很大的潜力，可以通过讲授就业相关社交技能的课程、行为排练来练习技能，以及布置课外作业，来满足自闭症个体在工作场所的多方面需求。自闭症青年参与者对该项目和就业相关社交技能课程表示高度满意。他们还表示对实习/就业的准备感增强，对职场礼仪的了解增加，大多数参与者维持或获得了就业。这项研究支持 PEERS® for Careers 作为一种可行的干预措施，这可能有利于自闭症个体的职业结果，而职业结果是成年后幸福感的一个重要指标。这项工作对于进一步开发和提供有效的服务以满足自闭症群体的需求至关重要。
