This four-part series, containing ideas for teaching and therapy as well as free, downloadable materials, is to help mental health professionals, educators and speech therapists to promote motivation, practical understanding and positive attitudes about work for their young clients on the autism spectrum.

There are links to each of the four sections at the bottom of this page.

Reasons to build workplace readiness into teaching, therapy and speech:

1. Young adults on the spectrum with work exposure tend to do better, socially and emotionally.

In my own professional experience, my clients who have had work opportunities, either paid or volunteer, have done better overall socially and emotionally as young adults compared to those who have not worked.

After their formal education has stopped, work can provide opportunities for continued growth and accomplishment outside the home. Young people on the spectrum who work, even a few hours a week or in volunteer positions, tend to maintain better self-care skills and social skills. Many are assets to their employers. Those of us who can sometimes “recognize” autistic people out in the working world appreciate their being there so much.

A few of my young, autistic clients have had gifted intelligence or rare abilities. Helping these young people to negotiate some of the social and emotional challenges of initial work experiences has sometimes helped them to aspire to their potential.

2. Filling in knowledge gaps, reinforcing emotional preparation and troubleshooting problems can make young people with ASD more successful in their initial work experiences.

Although there are limits to what we can do in our therapy offices, speech rooms and classrooms to promote work readiness, we should all do what we can.

Once years ago, I happened to be standing next to one of my students when he got a call on his cell from a grocery store supervisor who had received his application and wanted to set up an interview. I overheard this student quote directly from some of the stock answers to job interview questions that we had recently practiced in our social skills group. Clearly, what he had learned in our sessions was helpful to him. He ended up getting hired there – his very first job.

3. Workplace preparation is even useful for individuals who are not destined for the workplace.

Some young people with autism might have co-occurring disorders, such as intellectual disability or severe mood or anxiety disorders, making work difficult to realize outside of sheltered workshops. 

In my experience, isolated young people on the spectrum, whose exposure to the world has been largely confined to their homes, schools and computers, show curiosity and lively interest nevertheless in workplace readiness activities, even if conventional employment is not in their future. Although some of the teenagers I have seen in schools and in my office have subsequently not gone on to work very much as young adults, I believe that what they learned about the workplace still has value. They may be able to apply this knowledge later in life if vocational opportunities come up. At the very least, they are building a worthwhile fund of knowledge about the workplace, which may give them useful insights into the lives of family members and other people they know.

Here are the links to all the parts of this series on vocational preparation.

Intro: Workplace preparation resources for young people with ASD

Part 2: Workplace preparation – printable teaching panels

Part 3: Workplace preparation – Q & A cards

Part 4: Job interview skills – how to teach it and provide practice

Joel Shaul, LCSW