Supported Employment and Autism Ranking:

Future Research

Summary of Existing Research

There is a limited amount of low quality research evidence to suggest that supported employment programmes may increase employment rates among some autistic adults.

There is insufficient high quality research evidence to determine whether supported employment programmes may improve the overall quality of life among autistic adults.

There is very little research which involves autistic people to review the efficacy and ethical basis of the intervention.

Recommendations for Future Research

We agree with Taylor et al (2012) who stated

“Studies are also needed that illuminate which aspects of multifaceted supported employment programs have the greatest impact. Studies that do show evidence of effectiveness in this area should collect longer-term data to describe the degree to which findings, including the duration of employment, continue after the intervention itself is removed. These studies should also broaden the outcomes measured, to include other functional outcomes such as quality of life, educational attainment, residential outcomes, and social outcomes. Furthermore, it will be important for such studies to demonstrate and study the financial impact of specific programs over time on an individual, family, and systems level.

“Research is also necessary to understand how individual differences such as the severity of ASD symptoms, sociodemographic factors, and physical and mental health comorbidities may affect the transition to adulthood as well as treatment over an individual's life span.”

Any such research should involve autistic people to review the efficacy and ethical basis of the programmes.

Updated

17 Jun 2022

Last Review

01 Aug 2017

Next Review

01 Oct 2023