Why do individuals with ASD have trouble gaining employment?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Wilczynski, Trammell, and Clarke (2013) pointed out that every job requires at least some of the skills that are a primary deficit of ASD. “Consider, what employment positions do not require communication and social interaction? Which employers seek staff with a rigid adherence to sameness and one’s own routines?”. The discouraging employment outcomes individuals with ASD have do “not represent a lack of abilities on the part of the youths with ASD, but instead the inadequacy of the current service system to accommodate the needs of youths with ASD … as they are transitioning to adulthood”). While most students with ASD present challenging social and communication deficits, making it a challenge to find suitable work, they also show remarkable skills in different areas, and it therefore becomes important to identify the strengths of young people with ASD. We can then match those strengths to work and community environments where they can be successful. It is important for school-based supports to be in place that improve the likelihood that employment positions are secured and maintained. Supports should be offered to students with ASD while they are in school that result in workforce placement when a student leaves formal education.