背景:自闭症年轻人就业/实习结果不佳的风险较高,尽管有许多与工作场所相关的优势。目前,很少有针对这一人群的就业干预措施全面促进就业各个阶段的技能发展和成功。
目标:为了弥补这一差距,当前的研究旨在测试可行性,可接受性,和一个新的大学到职业干预计划的功效,PEERS®职业。
方法:12名自闭症年轻人(19-30岁)被招募并与职业教练配对。试点计划包括每周两次90分钟的会议,10周,涵盖与获取相关的内容,维护,在就业/实习环境中蓬勃发展。
结果:结果表明,年轻人在与就业有关的社交技能知识方面显着提高,p<.001。参与者还报告说,在研究过程中,他们对就业的准备程度有了显着改善,p=.009,所有年轻人在干预后自我认同为“有些准备”或“非常准备”。此外,在为期10周的短暂干预中,观察到获得或维持实习/就业相关活动的参与者略有增加。总的来说,课程内容和指导被认为是有帮助的。在自我报告的自闭症症状学中没有观察到显着变化。
结论:总而言之,PEERS®职业计划显示出作为自闭症年轻人的大学职业干预计划的希望。
结论:对自闭症年轻人缺乏基于证据的干预措施,尽管需要大量支持来加强职业和关系上的成功。本文是第一个通过探索可行性来评估PEERS®职业干预的试点研究,可接受性,以及这种新颖的大学对职业干预计划的功效,它使用基于优势的方法教授生态有效的就业相关技能。结果表明,PEERS®职业显示出作为一种综合干预措施的巨大潜力,可以通过教学课程解决工作场所自闭症患者的多方面需求。练习技能的行为排练,小组之外的任务。自闭症的年轻成人参与者报告说,他们对该计划以及与就业相关的社交技能相关的课程非常满意。他们还赞同增加实习/就业准备的感觉,以及增加对工作场所礼仪的了解,大多数参与者保持或确保就业。这项研究支持PEERS®职业作为一种可行的干预措施,可能有利于自闭症患者的职业结果,这与成年后的幸福感密切相关。这项工作对于进一步发展和提供有效的服务以满足自闭症社区的需求至关重要。
BACKGROUND: Autistic young adults are at elevated risk for poor employment/internship outcomes, despite having many strengths relevant to the workplace. Currently, very few employment interventions for this population comprehensively promote skills development and success across the various stages of employment.
OBJECTIVE: To address this gap, the current study aimed to test the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a novel college to career intervention program, PEERS® for Careers.
METHODS: Twelve autistic young adults (19-30 years old) were enrolled and matched to a career coach. The pilot program consisted of 90-minute sessions delivered twice per week, for 10 weeks, covering content relevant to obtaining, maintaining, and thriving in employment/internship settings.
RESULTS: Results indicated that young adults showed a significant improvement in employment-related social skills knowledge, p < .001. Participants also reported significant improvements in their feelings of preparedness for employment over the course of the study, p = .009, with all young adults self-identifying as \"somewhat prepared\" or \"very prepared\" post-intervention. Additionally, in only a brief 10-week intervention, a slight increase in participants who secured or maintained internship/employment-related activities was observed. Overall, lesson content and coaching were perceived as helpful. No significant changes were observed in self-reported autism symptomatology.
CONCLUSIONS: In sum, the PEERS® for Careers program shows promise as a college to career intervention program for autistic young adults.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a dearth of evidence-based interventions for autistic young adults, despite significant need for supports to bolster vocational and relational success. This paper is the first to evaluate the PEERS® for Careers intervention in a pilot study by exploring feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of this novel college to career intervention program, which teaches ecologically valid employment-related skills using a strengths-based approach. Results suggest PEERS® for Careers shows significant potential as a comprehensive intervention to address the multi-faceted needs of autistic individuals in the workplace through didactic lessons, behavioral rehearsals to practice skills, and out of group assignments. Autistic young adult participants reported a high level of satisfaction with the program and lessons surrounding employment-related social skills. They also endorsed increased feelings of internship/employment readiness and increased knowledge of workplace etiquette, with most participants maintaining or securing employment. This study supports PEERS® for Careers as a feasible intervention that likely benefits autistic individuals\' vocational outcomes, which emerge as a strong correlate of well-being in adulthood. This work is essential to furthering the development and provision of effective services to meet needs of the autism community.