Job tips: A transition to employment program for individuals with autism spectrum disorders | Knowledge Translation for Employment Research Center

Authors:	Taylor, J. l., McPheeters, M., Sathe, N.A., Dove, D., Veenstra-VanderWeele, J. & Warren, Z.
Year Published	2013
Publication	The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Volume	43
Number	10
Pages	2472-2483
Publisher	Springer
Background	Shattuck et al. (2012) reported that youth with an ASD are uniquely at risk for negative post-school outcomes, as indicated by the fact that while only 55 % of those with an ASD are employed in the 6 years beyond high school, 86 % of those with a speech or language impairment, 94 % of those with a learning disability, and 69 % of those with an intellectual disability have found employment.
Purpose	The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a treatment package comprised of a web-based interviewing skills program (JobTIPS) and virtual reality practice on responses to employment interview questions by adolescents with high functioning autism and Asperger‚ Disorder.
Setting	The setting was a University Research Center.
Sample	The study sample included 22 youth who were between the ages of 16‚Äì19 years old.
Data Collection	An Interview Skills Rating Instrument was developed by researchers. The first scale was Response Content: A 10 item scale that measures the content of the participant's response to 10 interview questions. The second scale: Response Delivery: 20 items that measure behaviors related to greetings and farewells (handshakes, eye contact, verbal greeting, verbal expression of appreciation at end of interview), as well as the non-verbal behaviors (body positioning, facial expressions) that accompany verbal responses during the actual interview questioning period.
Control	Services as usual
Findings	The results of the study suggest that youth with ASD who completed the Job TIPS training program showed significant improvement in their job interviewing skills when compared to the control group. The program was more effective in teaching content rather than delivery skills. Participants were able to produce more appropriate verbal responses to interview questions following intervention, but the features that accompany those responses did not improve to the same degree.
Conclusions	The findings demonstrate that a web-based training program can be effective as an intervention method to improve employment related interviewing skills for individuals with ASD.
URL	http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10803-013-1800-4
Disabilities	Autism Spectrum Disorder
Populations	Male
Outcomes	Other
NIDILRR Funded	No
Research Design	Quasi-experimental
Peer Reviewed	Yes

Year Published

2013

Publication

The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Volume

43

Number

10

Pages

2472-2483

Publisher

Springer

Background

Shattuck et al. (2012) reported that youth with an ASD are uniquely at risk for negative post-school outcomes, as indicated by the fact that while only 55 % of those with an ASD are employed in the 6 years beyond high school, 86 % of those with a speech or language impairment, 94 % of those with a learning disability, and 69 % of those with an intellectual disability have found employment.

Purpose

The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a treatment package comprised of a web-based interviewing skills program (JobTIPS) and virtual reality practice on responses to employment interview questions by adolescents with high functioning autism and Asperger‚ Disorder.

Setting

The setting was a University Research Center.

Sample

The study sample included 22 youth who were between the ages of 16‚Äì19 years old.

Data Collection

An Interview Skills Rating Instrument was developed by researchers. The first scale was Response Content: A 10 item scale that measures the content of the participant's response to 10 interview questions. The second scale: Response Delivery: 20 items that measure behaviors related to greetings and farewells (handshakes, eye contact, verbal greeting, verbal expression of appreciation at end of interview), as well as the non-verbal behaviors (body positioning, facial expressions) that accompany verbal responses during the actual interview questioning period.

Control

Services as usual

Findings

The results of the study suggest that youth with ASD who completed the Job TIPS training program showed significant improvement in their job interviewing skills when compared to the control group. The program was more effective in teaching content rather than delivery skills. Participants were able to produce more appropriate verbal responses to interview questions following intervention, but the features that accompany those responses did not improve to the same degree.

Conclusions

The findings demonstrate that a web-based training program can be effective as an intervention method to improve employment related interviewing skills for individuals with ASD.

URL

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10803-013-1800-4

Disabilities

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Populations

Male

Outcomes

Other

NIDILRR Funded

No

Research Design

Quasi-experimental

Peer Reviewed

Yes