Invitation to Participate in Research Regarding Autism and Employment for Parents of Adults, Age 26 or Older, with Autism

Lamar University Autism and Employment Research

Lamar University Autism and Employment Research

Following on from yesterday’s post on autism and employment about “Employable Me” we are delighted to help James Williams of the Center for Doctoral Studies in Educational Leadership at Lamar University. James is looking to find people to help with a short survey so we were hoping you might help!

James writes “As a doctoral candidate at Lamar University, I am conducting a study for my dissertation to better understand the relationship between various parental factors which may impact the successful employment outcomes of adults on the Autism Spectrum The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between parental factors and the successful employment of adults, age 26 or older, diagnosed with Autism in the United States. I plan to use this information to develop higher-quality, research-based parent training programs aimed at providing parents the tools they need to help their autistic children with obtain and maintain employment. The results should be of interest and value to parents, educators, related professionals, and any other professionals who work with autistic people and their families.

I hope to have at least 88 parents from across the country participate in this study. Criteria for participation include the following:

The participants must be a parent of an adult, age 26 or older, diagnosed with Autism by a licensed professional.
The participants must also have current knowledge of their adult’s employment status.

Your responses are confidential and your name will not be associated with any research findings. In addition, no names or other identifying information will be collected in the survey. The data will be stored electronically in a secure manner.

This study has been approved by the Lamar University Institutional Review Board. You are free to decide not to participate in this study or to withdraw at any time without adversely affecting your relationship with the investigator or Lamar University. There is no compensation to participate in this study; however, benefits of participation may include a contribution to scholarly research, as well as direct benefits to the subjects through the provision of the study’s summary and recommendations regarding how parents can best support their children with Autism to obtain and maintain employment.

If, after reading the above information, you would like to participate in the study, please go to the following link to sign the electronic consent form and access the survey through Survey Monkey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PFWPASD

Thank You for Your Support of this Study and the Achievement of Better Outcomes for Adults with ASD,

James Williams, MRC, CRC

Doctoral Candidate

Center for Doctoral Studies in Educational Leadership

Lamar University

JWilliams109@lamar.edu

Employable Me – Take part in a TV show helping people on the autism spectrum find employment!

Employable Me  - Autism and Employment

Employable Me – Autism and Employment

A couple of days ago Sarah Glaser of Optomen Productions reached out to us to help her find people on the autism spectrum looking for work.  We have looked at the issues surrounding autism and employment before so are very happy to help Ms Glaser find suitable people to participate.

Glaser writes “I’m a producer with the TV production company, Optomen Productions. We are the production company behind the show Employable Me on BBC2, where extraordinary job seekers aim to prove that neurological differences should be viewed as assets rather than difficulties in the workplace. With the help of experts who serve as mentors, neurodiverse individuals unlock their hidden talents and find the job that best suits their unique skill sets and strengths.

We are currently developing the show in the US, and are searching for people with ASD who have struggled to find employment and might have interest in being part of the program.”

If you would like to find out more, please e-mail her at sarah.glaser@optomenusa.com

To find out a bit more about the original UK TV show and why you should take part please have a look at this review in a UK newspaper.

Employable Me  - Autism and Employment

Employable Me – Autism and Employment

Autism and Employment – These Facts Will Horrify You!

Autism and Employment

Autism and Employment

Specialist Autism Services have produced this brilliant inforgraphic looking at autism and employment.

We have covered some of these issues before in a previous blog post!

If you wish to follow Specialist Autism Services on Twitter please go here!

Han-Lin
In general, those characteristics may be true. Everyone’s different. It’s easy to underestimate the skills of someone with autism. As someone with autism, I need to be interested in something to have good concentration and to be knowledgeable. For instructions, straight forward communication is important.

Autistic people – what is your current employment status? Please take our poll

Autism and Employment

Autism and Employment

Like many parents of children on the autism spectrum I have some concerns about the future for my son.

I don’t think it would be an understatement to say that currently few children who have been diagnosed with autism reach their full potential.

So I’m interested in the employment situation of adults on the autism spectrum. To help me understand the current employment situation of people on the autism spectrum it would be great if you could take the poll below.

To deepen our understanding autism and employment please use the comments box below to answer the following questions.

a) Do you have any kind of employment at the moment? Have you had any in the past?
b) Tell us a bit more about your employment story?
c) Have you ever faced discrimination in the workplace because of your autism?
d) What tools would have made securing employment easier?
e) What advice about getting a job would you give to somebody on the autism spectrum?

These questions are just a guide, of course, so feel free to share (or just vent) about anything you consider of importance on the subject of autism and employment?

Thanks very much in advance.