Employment Interventions for Individuals with ASD: The Relative Efficacy of Supported Employment With or Without Prior Project SEARCH Training

Carol M Schall; Paul Wehman; Valerie Brooke; Carolyn Graham; Jennifer McDonough; Alissa Brooke; Whitney Ham; Rachael Rounds; Stephanie Lau; Jaclyn Allen

doi:10.1007/s10803-015-2426-5

Employment Interventions for Individuals with ASD: The Relative Efficacy of Supported Employment With or Without Prior Project SEARCH Training

J Autism Dev Disord. 2015 Dec;45(12):3990-4001. doi: 10.1007/s10803-015-2426-5.

Authors

Carol M Schall^{1

2}, Paul Wehman^{3

4}, Valerie Brooke⁴, Carolyn Graham³, Jennifer McDonough⁴, Alissa Brooke⁴, Whitney Ham⁴, Rachael Rounds⁴, Stephanie Lau⁴, Jaclyn Allen⁴

Affiliations

¹ Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Box 842011, Richmond, VA, 23284-2011, USA. cmschall@vcu.edu.
² School of Education, VCU Autism Center for Excellence, Virginia Commonwealth University, Box 842011, Richmond, VA, 23284-2020, USA. cmschall@vcu.edu.
³ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23298-3038, USA.
⁴ Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Box 842011, Richmond, VA, 23284-2011, USA.

PMID: 25791125
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-015-2426-5

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a retrospective observational records review study that compares the outcomes associated with implementation of supported employment (SE) with and without prior Project SEARCH with ASD Supports (PS-ASD) on wages earned, time spent in intervention, and job retention. Results suggest that SE resulted in competitive employment for 45 adults with ASD. Twenty-five individuals received prior intervention through PS-ASD while the other 20 individuals received SE only. Individuals in this sample who received PS-ASD required fewer hours of intervention. Additionally, individuals in the PS-ASD group achieved a mean higher wage and had higher retention rates than their peers who received SE only. Further research with a larger sample is needed to confirm these findings.

Keywords: ASD; Adults; Autism; Competitive employment; Project SEARCH plus ASD Supports; Supported employment.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Observational Study
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Adult
Autism Spectrum Disorder / economics*
Autism Spectrum Disorder / therapy*
Employment, Supported / methods*
Employment, Supported / trends
Female
Humans
Income / trends
Male
Retrospective Studies
Treatment Outcome
Young Adult