Nicholas David B, Lau Ai-Men
Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary (Central and Northern Alberta Region), Edmonton, Canada.
Autism Adulthood. 2019 Sep 1;1(3):194-201. doi: 10.1089/aut.2018.0040. Epub 2019 Sep 11.
Autistic adults are at heightened risk to experience poor employment outcomes. Employment supports are suggested to improve these outcomes, but relatively little is known about the key ingredients of employment support and their respective impact.
We conducted a case study of employment support offered by , a social enterprise that facilitates and supports employment in the information technology (IT) sector for autistic adults. We conducted three sequential interviews (once per month) with four autistic adults working in the IT sector and receiving employment support, as well as one-time interviews with nine employers and three employment support personnel.
Participants valued employment support. They appreciated the immediacy and flexibility of support, varied assistance offered to both employees and employers, and organizational learning about needed workplace adjustments. Participants further stated that employment support improved work environments, decreased employee anxiety at work, and improved employee confidence. Challenges to employment included gaps in support during times of employment interruption, waning employee motivation, and mental health service gaps in the community. Recommendations for future advancement entailed (1) continuous support even in periods of unemployment, (2) employment support services across industries and sectors beyond IT, and (3) greater opportunity for autistic people, as they desire, to advance to leadership roles in employment settings.
The study identifies benefits of, and guidance for, employment support in the IT sector. We offer recommendations, with potential relevance for autistic employees, employers, and employment support providers. Ensuring employment-related supports, as needed and desired by autistic adults, is a priority for advancing employment outcomes in this population.
We did this study to learn about employment support in the information technology (IT) sector since little is known about these supports and they may be important in helping autistic adults obtain and keep jobs. We sought to explore employment support for autistic individuals working in the IT sector including what employment support was like for autistic adults, individuals employing them, and professionals providing them employment support. We asked 16 people with experience receiving or providing employment supports in the IT sector about their thoughts on employment support: 4 autistic adults who received program support, 9 employers, and 3 employment support professionals. Both employers and employees found employment support services helpful in obtaining and retaining employment. Participants described positive experiences with employment support, including better access to suitable and satisfying employment, improved work environments, decreased anxiety, and a supportive and trusting relationship with the job coaches. Employers noted the proficiency of the employees in their work duties, and identified the job coaches as sources of knowledge and guidance. Employers described benefits to their organizations including learning and growth in their work environment related to attitudes and knowledge about autism and autistic coworkers. Participants recommended (1) continuous employment support even in times of employment interruption, (2) providing employment support across industries and sectors beyond IT, and (3) fostering opportunities for leadership roles for autistic adults, as they desire. Some challenges identified by participants included gaps in services when individuals were waiting to be employed, employees losing motivation, and gaps in community mental health services. This study helps us better understand employment support in IT jobs. It adds knowledge about the benefits that autistic adults receive from this support. It also describes the importance of extending beyond only individual skill development and moving toward the development of an "ecosystem" of support with increased community resources, including supporting potential employers and reducing barriers to employment. The study also describes specific tasks of employment support, such as brokering communication between employees and employers. We did this study in a single region and with a small group of people. It is possible others might have different experiences and perspectives. This study highlights the value of employment support for autistic adults in the IT sector. With wider availability of effective employment support, it is hoped that more autistic adults will achieve better and more satisfying employment. Our findings offer information that can potentially contribute to good and satisfying career opportunities for autistic adults.
成年自闭症患者面临就业不良后果的风险更高。建议提供就业支持以改善这些结果，但对于就业支持的关键要素及其各自的影响了解相对较少。
我们对一家社会企业提供的就业支持进行了案例研究，该企业为成年自闭症患者在信息技术（IT）领域的就业提供便利和支持。我们对四名在IT部门工作并接受就业支持的成年自闭症患者进行了三次连续访谈（每月一次），并对九名雇主和三名就业支持人员进行了一次性访谈。
参与者重视就业支持。他们赞赏支持的即时性和灵活性、为员工和雇主提供的各种援助，以及组织对所需工作场所调整的了解。参与者还表示，就业支持改善了工作环境，降低了员工在工作中的焦虑，并提高了员工的信心。就业面临的挑战包括就业中断期间支持的缺口、员工积极性下降以及社区心理健康服务的缺口。对未来发展的建议包括：（1）即使在失业期间也持续提供支持；（2）在IT行业以外的其他行业和部门提供就业支持服务；（3）为自闭症患者提供更多机会，让他们根据自己的意愿在就业环境中担任领导角色。
该研究确定了IT部门就业支持的益处和指导。我们提出了一些建议，可能与自闭症员工、雇主和就业支持提供者相关。根据成年自闭症患者的需求和期望确保提供与就业相关的支持，是提高这一人群就业成果的优先事项。
我们进行这项研究是为了了解信息技术（IT）部门的就业支持情况，因为对这些支持了解甚少，而它们可能对帮助成年自闭症患者获得并保住工作很重要。我们试图探索为在IT部门工作的自闭症患者提供的就业支持，包括成年自闭症患者、雇佣他们的个人以及为他们提供就业支持的专业人员所接受的就业支持情况。我们询问了16名在IT部门有接受或提供就业支持经验的人对就业支持的看法：4名接受项目支持的成年自闭症患者、9名雇主和3名就业支持专业人员。雇主和员工都发现就业支持服务有助于获得和保留工作。参与者描述了就业支持的积极经历，包括更容易获得合适且令人满意的工作、改善的工作环境、减少的焦虑以及与职业教练建立的支持性和信任性的关系。雇主指出员工在工作职责方面的熟练程度，并将职业教练视为知识和指导的来源。雇主描述了对其组织的益处，包括在与自闭症及自闭症同事的态度和知识相关的工作环境中的学习和成长。参与者建议：（1）即使在就业中断期间也持续提供就业支持；（2）在IT行业以外的其他行业和部门提供就业支持；（3）为成年自闭症患者提供他们期望的担任领导角色的机会。参与者指出的一些挑战包括个人等待就业期间服务的缺口、员工失去动力以及社区心理健康服务的缺口。这项研究有助于我们更好地理解IT工作中的就业支持。它增加了关于成年自闭症患者从这种支持中获得的益处的知识。它还描述了超越个人技能发展、朝着利用更多社区资源（包括支持潜在雇主和减少就业障碍）发展“支持生态系统”的重要性。该研究还描述了就业支持的具体任务，例如促成员工与雇主之间的沟通。我们在一个单一地区对一小群人进行了这项研究。其他人可能有不同的经历和观点。这项研究强调了IT部门就业支持对成年自闭症患者的价值。随着有效就业支持的更广泛提供，希望更多成年自闭症患者能获得更好且更令人满意的就业。我们的研究结果提供了可能有助于为成年自闭症患者带来良好且令人满意的职业机会的信息。
