Review of Transition and Vocational Interventions for Youth and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Self-Perceived Independent Living Skills and Self-Determination as a Method of Evaluating a Residential Program in Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…While many of the current vocational programs lacked descriptive characteristics of the participants [10], this study was able to identify basic demographic information to assess the current status and needs of young adults with ASD. Around one-third of the participants were identified as females, which is higher than most studies with predominantly male participants [18]. Females with ASD are underdiagnosed [19], and there is limited information on the specific needs of young adult females with ASD as it pertains to independent living and obtaining employment.…”

“…The residential summer camp program used in this study identified and incorporated missing aspects from other vocational programs for young adults with ASD and integrated qualities necessary for adequate employment training, such as those seen in Project SEARCH with ASD supports [17]. Systematic reviews on vocational programs for individuals with ASD highlighted a need to address ASD as a heterogeneous disorder [2] to provide more information on the general characteristics of participants [10] and to incorporate both group-based and individual-based learning in a residential setting [18]. The program that was evaluated in this study utilized Wehymer and Shalock's four essential characteristics of self-determined behavior to address ASD as a heterogeneous condition and focus interventions on lifelong independent living skills in addition to employment training.…”

“…The present study was conducted as a pretest-posttest research design using surveys to evaluate a summer camp program for young adults with ASD. The residential program was created by a non-profit organization in 2015 to address the lack of employment opportunities for young adults on the autism spectrum leaving school and entering adulthood [18]. The residential program was developed to aid young adults with ASD and their families in accessing adult services, obtaining competitive employment, and fostering independent living habits through the use of an established curriculum with support from qualified educators, autism specialists, case managers, counselors, and peer mentors.…”

Programs' Efficacy to Develop Employable Skills for People With Functional Diversity: A Meta-Analysis

“…Anyhow, the effect size has resulted significatively positive in favor of the experimental group in the domains that can be linked to a greater extent to work, such as career planning, interview skills and labor expectations. This is relevant for these are issues that, in contrast to general social skills, are labor-specific and are part, as such, of any vocational education and training program also for all kinds of people as well as for all levels of qualification (Hedley et al, 2017;Jordan et al, 2016;Lee et al, 2018;Walsh et al, 2017). These are crucial in the preparation for employment and therefore these results are particularly relevant in our study, as they do not deal just with social inclusion but directly with integration into the labor market.…”

“…Engelbrecht et al (2017) reviewed 99 documents on transition programs into work for people with disabilities highlighting the need for further research. Several systematic reviews on peo-ple with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) pay attention to the features and results of actions based upon employment programs, transition into work and occupational activities (Hedley et al, 2017;Lee et al, 2018;Taylor et al, 2012;Walsh et al, 2017). Among these, Lee et al (2018) point to practice within these employment programs focused not only in fostering occupational skills and improving employability results, but which also provide collateral benefits improving mental health, self-confidence or time-management, among others.…”