Transition is proving especially difficult for those with autism as compared to other disabilities, with most on the spectrum struggling to move into the workforce or additional schooling.
Research published Monday indicates that in the first two years after high school more than half of those with autism did not work or attend school, a lower rate of participation than any other disability group studied. The situation improved somewhat with time, yet more than six years after leaving high school some 35 percent of those with autism still had no work or further education.
The findings suggest that current transition planning for young people with autism is inadequate, researchers said in the study published in the journal Pediatrics. What’s more, they say the struggles facing those with autism are particularly troubling given the growing number of children with the disorder.
“Many families with children with autism describe turning 18 as falling off a cliff because of the lack of services for adults with ASDs,” said Paul Shattuck of Washington University in St. Louis who led the study. “The years immediately after high school are key. They are the time when people create an important foundation for the rest of their lives.”
For the study, Shattuck and his colleagues looked at survey responses from the parents of nearly 2,000 special education students who were interviewed as part of a study funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The data included 500 students with autism, while others surveyed were affected by speech-language impairment, learning disabilities or intellectual disability.
Though overall young adults with autism were struggling, researchers found that some factors gave individuals better odds of success. Those from higher earning families were more likely to be participating in school or paid work. But such activities were less common among black and Hispanic individuals even when researchers controlled for the severity of the person’s disability.
Those behind the study say their findings suggest that better transition planning is needed.
“There needs to be further research into services for young adults with ASDs to help them make the transition into adulthood and employment or further education,” Shattuck said.
As a parent of a 15-year old daughter who has autism this is not just sad but incredibly disappointing. We need to do better!!
They always seem to focus on those who don’t go to college after high school but there are also a great number of us that manage to go to college with accomodations or without and then end up still not being able to transition to work after college. They really need to work on making college reflect skills needed in jobs. Going to class is so different than dealing with a work environment all day. What I have seen is a lot of non autistic people are able to just transition to that and autistic people often struggle with that no matter how much education they have. And now we are 25, 30, 35, 40 and still sitting on disability for no reason other than a lack of support. It actually may be even easier for teens and young adults who go into a job training program right after high school than for those that get generic bachelors degrees. We need a school to work connection of some sort or alternatively to be given the opportunity to go to grad school and teach. If we fall somewhere in between these two options we are kinda screwed money- making wise. Living on disability doing nothing with our lives really sucks.
My 17 yo old son has Aspergers. He did well until middle and especially high school. He mostly lacks communication, social skills and organization but is otherwise very bright. I am thinking instead of a regular traditional college situation that we as parents have to become creative. My son wants to be a Veterinarian. Big task, few schools. I am going to encourage him to do a vet assistant program first, a two year degree, with some online classes. Try to look at the childs skill sets. interests and focus there. It is true though, we have more than the average salary and education as parents, so we have a advantage there. I can’t not imagine his path if we did not have these assets. Yes, we need to do more. For the affected. For society as a whole. We need to focus on education in this country for all people of all differences. What a better world it would be.
I am a 38 year old Aspie with PDD-NOS. I have had countless problems in communication, social skills, and short term memory. However, I have pulled off a 3.48 GPA in high school, a B.A. in Mathematics, and 2 associate degrees at the local technical college. The man who leads this study in St. Louis said that “the years after high school are key. They are the time when people create an important foundation for the rest of their lives.” Well, here’s my response: WHY THE HELL DIDN’T THEY HELP ME CREATE A FOUNDATION!!!!!!!??????????????????????????????????????????? I am currently unemployed, looking for a job, have one daughter and a wife, and yet NO DIRECTION!!! Those first few years in college were wasted because they didn’t transition me effectively. I had little idea of how my major would later benefit me in life, and no one was there to help me. I am lucky to be surviving on disability, but if that runs out, I’m in trouble. I still feel like I’m aimless, even though I’m reaching 40. I’m helping out with a woman in a worse situation than me, and she has a 7 year old son. I forgot to mention that she has ADHD and is living with her sister because she was tricked into getting Child Protective Services to boot her out of Minnesota (her home state…she and I live in Wisconsin). I’m sorry to be rambling, but I’ve had enough. I just hope somebody empathizes with me.
It doesn’t matter what the degree is no one has degree in Human Resources if the emphasis being a social skills is to much of barriar of getting a job. It is like a popularity contest with eye contact and social graces and half the prospective employees are not competent in jobs. It is more like reform needs to come with hiring practices. I proposed a class action lawsuit most lawyers say we really don’t have a case. Social eye contact is means to judge how good of employee is when comes to workforce. It just another excuse of legalized discrimination against the aspies. They used different version when it comes to minorities. I have too face this as an Aspies.