The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

The presenter will discuss the importance of accurately assessing people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in order to gain and maintain employment. In addition, the presenter will demonstrate a software program that assesses the strengths and weaknesses, sensory issues, and amount of support needed for employment for people with ASD in terms of their needs. A problem that adolescents and adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face is high unemployment. Individuals with disabilities are less likely to gain employment than their typical peers (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996); but, more importantly, only 15% of all individuals with ASD gain employment (Cameto et al., 2003). If trends continue, the unemployment rate of individuals diagnosed with ASD may increase as more children who are diagnosed and reach the age of employment. This problem impacts not only individuals with ASD and their families, but everyone who pays taxes as well. Typically, people with ASD who are employable, but not employed, utilize government benefits that, in turn, cost everyone.

The population of individuals diagnosed with ASD is increasing. Numerous sources of data have reported that the rate of autism is increasing dramatically (Autism Society of America, 2006, Center for Disease Control, 2006). In 1992, the Autism Society of America reported the incidence of autism to be 1 in 10,000 births, while in 2005 the incidence of autism was reported to be 1 in 166 births. The United States State Department of Education (2002) reported a 544% increase in the occurrence of autism from the 2000-01 school year to the 2002-03 school year. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2006) estimates the incidence of autism to be 1 in 150 births.

The population of individuals diagnosed with ASD reaching adulthood is increasing. Vocational Rehabilitation, a division of the Department of Rehabilitation Services, was created to assist people with disabilities in gaining and maintaining employment nationwide. The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992 (PL 102-569) made assisting individuals with significant disabilities in gaining employment the Department’s primary focus. The U.S. Department of Education and Rehabilitative Services conducted a longitudinal study (Hayward & Schmidt-Davis, 2003) revealing that 65% of applicants turned away or deemed ineligible for services by Vocational Rehabilitation fell under the classification of “significant” or “most significant” disabilities. Individuals diagnosed with ASD are categorized as persons having significant disabilities or most significant disabilities by Vocational Rehabilitation Services.

The increasing number of individuals diagnosed with ASD will soon reach the age of the labor force. The number of individuals who received Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) has remained consistent; but, the amount of public assistance received by that same population has increased annually. Unless individuals diagnosed with ASD gain and maintain employment, the number of individuals who are supported by public assistance will dramatically increase.

One way to assist people with ASD in gaining and maintaining employment is to assist them in finding a good job match. In order for this match to be a win/win situation for the employer and for the employee understanding the needs and characteristics of the individual is vital. The presenter has worked with individuals with ASD in both the educational and vocational settings. She also has working knowledge of the needs of businesses in their community which is vital when assessing potential matches. After working directly with individual with ASD and consulting with school systems and other adult agencies, the presenter developed a software program that assesses an individual’s strengths and weaknesses, sensory needs, and skills in the areas of communication, socialization, and behavior. This tool provides a more effective, in depth means of identifying strengths and weaknesses which in turn leads to a higher probability of success for all involved.

The assessment tool focuses on four key domains 1) communication, 2) socialization, 3) behavior, and 4) sensory. In addition, the assessment tool looks at other skills and ability levels that can assist in determining the amount of support needed (e.g. number of steps in a task that an individual can follow with and without visual supports). The goal is to determine what supports are needed not whether supports are needed.

In order to become a consumer of vocational rehabilitation, the individual must go through the intake process. This process often defers from state to state and often differs from within the same state by regional offices. Typically, the rehabilitation counselors consider cognitive assessments that have questionable results due to the questionable validity of these tests on people with ASD (i.e., most assessments have not been normed with individuals with ASD [Simpson and Myles, 1998]). In order to assist the intake process, the software can systematically assist the consumers. In addition to reviewing cognitive assessment scores, rehabilitation counselors sometimes recommend situational assessments for consumers. Unfortunately, most people with ASD do not perform well based on the very nature of the situational assessment (i.e., performing an unknown job in an unknown environment, with a stranger, and no visual supports). The Sellers Employment Evaluation Assessment (SEEA) will effectively evaluate the individual in with the outcome being what the consumer and their potential employer needs to be successful.

The presenter will discuss in-depth the following items: who can use the software and how they benefit from it (i.e., consumer, agencies, school systems, parents, and employers), how to best use software, what the results will reveal, how information will assist consumer, and how information will help better serve consumers and employers. The presenter will also discuss how the data can be used to better assist consumers in the future and direct the type of training necessary for professionals. Lastly, the instrument and the data collected will assist the agency in the organization of its day to day operation in terms of serving individuals with ASD.

Learning Objectives: