WHERE DO I START?
Remember when you were little and someone asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Or when you had career day in school? Maybe you went in dressed as an astronaut or a doctor, or maybe your classmates’ parents came in and explained their job to you. The point is: you have probably been thinking about employment longer than you realize. Now it’s time to think about what’s next.
Pre-employment
For adolescents in transition planning
If you are the caregiver of an autistic child going through transition planning, which is required by age 16, ask your school about pre-vocational services. These services include vocational assessments conducted to understand your child's interests by exposure to different careers and to document skills, abilities and interests. These services also provide your child with knowledge about workplace etiquette and social skills needed on the job. Your child can also volunteer or intern to gain more experience about the career that they are interested in pursuing. It is also important that your child has access to training in self-advocacy.
For adults with low to moderate supports needs
Consider getting help from an employment agency specializing in those with disabilities. Visit the Employment section of the Autism Speaks Resource Guide. From there, enter your zip code to view a list of employment service providers in your area. You can also contact your local Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency, which provides employment assistance to individuals with disabilities, including autism. They offer services like career counseling, job training, and job placement support. Click here to find the office in your state.
You can also look for job coaches or employment specialists who work with individuals with autism to develop job skills, navigate the job search process, and provide on-the-job support. They can help with resume writing, interview preparation, and job matching. Joining job clubs or support groups for individuals with autism can also provide valuable networking opportunities, job leads, and support from peers who have similar experiences. These groups may be facilitated by professionals or run by community organizations.
For adults with high supports needs
Seek support from specialized disability service providers that offer comprehensive vocational training, career counseling, and job placement services for individuals with autism, including from:
- Supported Employment Programs: These programs are designed to assist individuals with significant support needs, including autism, in finding and maintaining employment. They typically provide ongoing, intensive support both during the job search process and in the workplace. Supported employment programs often offer job coaches, on-the-job training, and ongoing support for the employee and the employer.
- Disability Service Providers: Connect with organizations that specialize in providing employment services for individuals with disabilities. These providers often have a range of supports available, including vocational assessments, job training, job placement assistance, and ongoing support.
Workbook activity: Service providers
Make a list of service providers in your area, including their contact information. Reach out to them if you are interested in a supported employment provider. This workbook can be downloaded here.
Build a support network
Whenever you decide employment is in your future, it is a good idea to start building a personal support network. It is never too early to do this. Think about the people who know you best, like your family, therapists or counselors, former teachers or people you know in careers that interest you. You want to have a few trusted people you can reach out to about your employment aspirations and who, in turn, will give you feedback.
Reach out to them now, let them know you are job seeking, and ask if it's ok if you get in touch to ask them for advice or guidance. You should reach out to these people again after you find a job to let them know where you are working and then periodically check in. Eventually you may reach out to them again if you want to switch jobs, or they may reach out to you if they want to connect someone to you. This is called networking. We will discuss this more later.
Success stories
If you have a success story, we would love to hear from you. Please email us: WIN@autismspeaks.org.
Meet William Andrew Rose
From fast-food employee to author and speaker
William A. Rose, diagnosed with autism at the age of 2, authored "Amazing Grace, Amazing Gifts: Autism and the Gifts God Granted Along Our Journey" in 2021. His goal is to continue writing books, designing logos for companies and creating personalized emojis for individuals. His dream job would be to work as a specialist at the Apple store. Here, he shares a bit of his journey and his advice for autistic jobseekers.
Never give up
Be consistent when applying for employment, and never give up on your dreams until they come to fruition. We are some of the best workers in any industry.
The owner of a fast-food chain did not want to hire me because I was disabled, even though his employees wanted to hire me. I would ask weekly if they were going to hire me; I said I would work the later shift and come in when they were short staffed. Eventually, I was hired at a different location where I worked the front counter.
Find and use supports
I struggled with stuttering at a young age but overcame it by taking my time when I talked. I sometimes used instructions or scripts printed on a small, laminated piece of paper if I needed it when a customer was ordering, which was created for me by one of the managers at the previous fast food chain location. He was a kind, caring and compassionate individual.
Volunteer and get involved
I am appreciative for the opportunity I had as an intern at my church. It was a rewarding experience to be able to collaborate on various projects and provide assistance in their graphic design department.
I am also a member of my local chapter of Toastmasters International, the non-profit dedicated to teaching life skills through public speaking. I meet every Wednesday evening with fellow Toastmasters to time the Table Topics speakers, formal speeches and the evaluations. On some occasions, I even speak before the members.
When I am not working or creating, I serve on the Junior Board of Directors at Unicorn Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to creating cradle-to-career pathways for kids and young adults with developmental or learning disabilities.
Meet Scott Rubin, and his mother, Michelle, founder of Autism after 21
Necessity was the mother of invention for Michelle Rubin. She knew her teenage autistic son Scott was not college-bound. But she knew he would contribute to his community and live a productive life. So, in high school, she started building his resume with all his activities. As a result, today Scott is in his thirties, has a decade of work experience behind him and is looking to move out on his own. Along the way, Michelle built Autism After 21 to help other autistic young adults transition to employment. Autism Speaks awarded the organization two grants for its efforts, including most recently in 2019 for its SOAR program. Michelle describes their employment journeys here.
Building a resume
I began building a resume for my son Scott, who was born with autism spectrum disorder, when he was in high school. I knew he was not college-bound. So I started preparing him for a future in employment. I chronicled everything from classes, sports, Special Olympics, awards, work training and even computer programs he knew to use. For families of autistic students still in high school, my advice is to start building a resume now by volunteering and becoming a part of clubs or organizations.
Based on our experience, I founded the non-profit Autism After 21 when Scott was 18 to provide education, mentorship, advocacy, employment and social opportunities to other young adults with autism spectrum disorder. Our signature program SOAR – Summer Opportunity for Adult Readiness – is a 12-day, residential, job-readiness program held on college campuses. Our curriculum focuses on pre-employment training, career exploration, self-advocacy training, independent living, financial management and social skills.
Scott's employment journey
Scott’s first job was with a neighbor’s business that focuses on reusable plastic tags used in retail. I asked him if there was anything in their process that Scott could possibly do. I went and visited the plant, and we found job tasks that were a fit. Scott now works there part-time.
In 2018, a friend who does marketing and PR for a local restaurant here in Florida, Rocco’s Tacos, told me about the possibility of an opening for Scott. He took a resume that I helped him write, he presented it to the chef and manager at the interview and he got a job as a dishwasher.
But he is more than that. Scott has taken it upon himself to fill some tasks on his own after seeing a need, including taking out trash and restocking dishes for the chef and bartenders. Scott likes to be helpful. His ability to figure out what someone in the restaurant needs that he can do makes him proud and feel like he’s part of the team, like when he can refill glasses for the bartender, dishes for the chef etc. The chef reports he will turn around and Scott will have emptied his trash without him even seeing Scott do it. He just does it without being asked.
Supports
My experience has been supports are needed in the beginning, especially finding the businesses who are willing to hire. We went to Vail for the summer and were able to find a restaurant that was willing to give Scott a chance even though they had never hired anyone with a disability before. He successfully worked there for seven weeks.
Resume writing for a young man of Scott’s academic ability must be done with assistance from others. Job coaching in a new position can make or break the success and longevity, and also gives the employer some confidence. Employers can be hesitant to bring someone into the workplace when they have no experience with adults on the spectrum. Assuring them they have supports really helps. Training staff what to expect so natural supports can develop is vital.
The job interviews can be difficult. Scott’s speech can be difficult to understand if you don’t know him. So I facilitated his job interviews. He also had a job coach from a previous restaurant job prior to the one at Rocco’s. He was able to transfer those skills to Rocco’s without a job coach. He went in on his own, got trained and has been successful ever since. Besides typical onboarding paperwork, Scott had training for the automated dish system from another staff member. It helps that he maintains the same schedule every week.
Self-advocacy
Scott takes great pride in commuting to work independently. He has mastered using his bike and public transportation to access his jobs. He can stay home alone and watch the dog. Currently, he is asking for an apartment, and I am trying to figure that out. Given the diagnosis of moderate-severe autism over 25 years ago, we never dreamt Scott would be living such an independent life.