Trusson Clive, Travers Cheryl
Loughborough Business School, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom.
Autism Adulthood. 2025 Apr 3;7(2):212-222. doi: 10.1089/aut.2024.0112. eCollection 2025 Apr.
BACKGROUND: Studying at a university can provide students with better opportunities of employment. However, autistic people are more likely to be unemployed after graduating than their non-autistic peers. Many university programs include integral internships/placements that require students to engage with the world of work including recruitment and selection processes. While it is known that autistic people often face difficulties in workplace settings generally, this study sought to explore how autistic students at a high-ranking UK university experienced work and employment processes and settings. METHODS: We collected the reflections of 12 autistic students, who had been engaging with work and employment processes and work organizational settings during their time as university students, via an in-depth qualitative survey comprising 25 questions. This provided data that, via analysis, offer a composite subjective voice for autistic people receiving disability support services provided by universities. RESULTS: We identified four key themes. First, the reflections of these autistic students revealed a confident awareness of skills/talents that their autism enabled them to offer to employers. Second, the analysis revealed that the support offered by the university to provide employability support to autistic students was bureaucratically structured such that it might be experienced as unhelpfully fractured. Third, autistic students often felt that support while working away from the university campus (e.g., on an internship/placement) was somewhat deficient. Fourth, the data revealed that autistic students can clearly articulate the deficiencies of the support provided to them and how those deficiencies might be addressed to enhance their employability skills and, by extension, their opportunities for success in the labor market. CONCLUSIONS: Autistic students would benefit from their universities adopting a more holistic approach to supporting them by engaging with (potential) employers and coworkers. Specifically, there is a need for university disability support workers to develop their knowledge and skills in careers and employability matters. They should aim to develop these to a level similar to that of university careers support workers. There is also a need for autistic students to be better supported while away from campus at a work placement. ABSTRACT: Autistic people often face discrimination in the workplace. More autistic people are going to university and may study on a program that has a work internship built in, requiring them to compete in recruitment and selection processes that are known to be problematic for many autistic people. While universities offer support to autistic students, it is not well known how that support is experienced in relation to employability skills development and while working as an intern. ABSTRACT: The study aimed to present the experiences of autistic students of applying for work, including internships, and working. It also aimed to present what autistic students thought about their future careers. Another purpose of the study was to provide recommendations to universities on providing support to autistic students on employability and employment. ABSTRACT: We developed an in-depth survey of 25 questions and distributed it to all autistic students receiving disability support at a UK university. Twelve autistic students responded, providing a set of authentic testimonies about employability skills development, employment experiences, support received, and support they would have liked to have received. ABSTRACT: The autistic students reported confidence in the skills and talents they could offer an organization. The autistic students also reported that the employment and employability support provided by the University was often unhelpfully fragmented. This was because different support teams provided different types of support. Autistic students also felt that support was somewhat deficient when they were working as interns away from their university campus. The autistic students clearly articulated how support might be better provided for them by the university. For example, they might receive specific support with preparing for a job interview as an autistic person, and might receive good advice on managing anxieties in the workplace. ABSTRACT: While previous research has shown that autistic students typically benefit from having a single point of support at university, this study highlights that this is particularly important when it comes to support when seeking employment and when in employment as a student, particularly when working away from campus. ABSTRACT: Our study is limited to autistic students from just one high-ranking and high-tariff university in the United Kingdom. As such, they may not be entirely representative of students at other universities and in other countries with different disability support systems and employment protections for autistic people. ABSTRACT: The findings will help universities to improve their disability support service for autistic students. The findings point to a need for universities to adopt a more holistic service, more focused on the individual employment and employability needs of the autistic student. By adopting recommendations to better support autistic students seeking work and in work, autistic students will more likely find suitable and fulfilling employment when they leave university.
背景:在大学学习能为学生提供更好的就业机会。然而,与非自闭症同龄人相比,自闭症患者毕业后更有可能失业。许多大学课程都包含不可或缺的实习环节,要求学生参与职场活动,包括招聘和选拔过程。虽然众所周知自闭症患者通常在工作场所会面临困难,但本研究旨在探讨英国一所顶尖大学的自闭症学生如何体验工作及就业流程和环境。 方法:我们通过一项包含25个问题的深入定性调查,收集了12名自闭症学生的反馈。这些学生在大学期间参与了工作及就业流程和工作组织环境。这提供的数据经分析后,为接受大学残疾支持服务的自闭症患者提供了一个综合的主观声音。 结果:我们确定了四个关键主题。第一,这些自闭症学生的反馈显示出他们自信地意识到自闭症使他们能够为雇主提供的技能和才能。第二,分析表明大学为自闭症学生提供就业支持的方式在官僚体系上结构不合理,以至于可能被体验为毫无帮助的支离破碎。第三,自闭症学生经常觉得在远离大学校园工作时(如实习期间)得到的支持有所欠缺。第四,数据显示自闭症学生能够清晰地阐明提供给他们的支持存在的不足,以及如何解决这些不足以提高他们的就业技能,进而增加他们在劳动力市场取得成功的机会。 结论:自闭症学生将受益于大学采取更全面的方法来支持他们,即与(潜在)雇主和同事合作。具体而言,大学残疾支持工作者需要提升他们在职业和就业事务方面的知识和技能。他们应努力将这些知识和技能提升到与大学职业支持工作者相当的水平。此外,在自闭症学生校外实习期间,也需要更好地支持他们。 摘要:自闭症患者在工作场所经常面临歧视。越来越多的自闭症患者进入大学,可能会参加包含工作实习的课程,这要求他们参与对许多自闭症患者来说存在问题的招聘和选拔过程。虽然大学为自闭症学生提供支持,但对于这种支持在就业技能发展和实习工作方面的体验情况,人们了解得并不多。 摘要:该研究旨在呈现自闭症学生申请工作(包括实习)及工作的经历。它还旨在呈现自闭症学生对自己未来职业的看法。该研究的另一个目的是就大学如何为自闭症学生提供就业能力和就业方面的支持提出建议。 摘要:我们编制了一份包含25个问题的深入调查问卷,并分发给英国一所大学所有接受残疾支持的自闭症学生。12名自闭症学生做出了回应,提供了一系列关于就业技能发展、就业经历、获得的支持以及他们希望获得的支持的真实证词。 摘要:自闭症学生表示对自己能够为组织提供的技能和才能充满信心。自闭症学生还表示,大学提供的就业和就业能力支持往往支离破碎,毫无帮助。这是因为不同的支持团队提供不同类型的支持。自闭症学生在远离大学校园实习时,也觉得得到的支持有所欠缺。自闭症学生清楚地阐明了大学如何能更好地为他们提供支持。例如,他们可能会在作为自闭症患者准备求职面试时得到具体支持,并且可能会在应对职场焦虑方面得到很好的建议。 摘要:虽然先前的研究表明自闭症学生通常在大学有单一的支持点会受益,但本研究强调,在求职和学生就业时,尤其是在校外工作时,这种支持尤为重要。 摘要:我们的研究仅限于英国一所顶尖高收费大学的自闭症学生。因此,他们可能并不完全代表其他大学以及其他国家具有不同残疾支持系统和针对自闭症患者就业保护措施的学生。 摘要:这些发现将有助于大学改进对自闭症学生的残疾支持服务。研究结果表明大学需要采用更全面的服务,更关注自闭症学生的个人就业和就业能力需求。通过采纳建议以更好地支持寻求工作和正在工作的自闭症学生,自闭症学生在大学毕业后更有可能找到合适且满意的工作。
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