How can schools provide a school-to-work transition model for young adults with ASD?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Wilczynski et al. (2013) recommended that schools help provide support in the job search process; a skills assessment; how to complete an application and prepare for an interview (i.e., role playing or video-taped mock interviews); identification of potential work challenges; training on how to manage workplace conditions; and on-the-job support and coaching. Similarly, participants in Sung et al. (2015) benefited from receiving counseling, job search assistance, and behavioral skills training. Clients also benefitted from receiving assistance in preparing resumes, identifying appropriate job opportunities, and developing interview skills.
Wehman et al. (2012) identified and researched the Project SEARCH program, which provides a school-to-work transition model for young people with significant disabilities. Project SEARCH is a business-led collaborative partnership between schools and local large businesses such as hospitals, bank centers, or government centers. In the model, students rotate through three internships throughout the school year. The internships are based on student aspirations for employment. For example, if a student expresses an interest in data processing, that student might rotate through internships that teach how to create donor files, how to create a database of doctors in a hospital, and how to input invoice numbers into a spreadsheet in the accounts payable office. Internships should represent marketable skills, and they should help the host business achieve the mission but not distract from the business. Students are interviewed, and in their program they receive intensive instruction based on their unique social, behavioral, and learning characteristics.