The Lived Experiences and Perspectives of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Mainstream Employment in Australia
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. People with ASD in Open Employment
1.2. The Current Study
- To gain perspectives of people with ASD about which supports they find most effective in gaining and maintaining employment.
- To determine how success in employment is measured by employees with ASD themselves.
2. Methods
2.1. Recruitment
2.2. Participants
2.3. Materials
2.4. Procedure
2.5. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Being Supported
[Manager’s name] which is the lady that gave me the job, she’s really understanding with my weaknesses and strengths.[Participant 8]
“… If I had any problems, like for example, maybe I need to kind of, be shown again how to do something, because maybe I wasn’t confident in doing it. I can ask my supervisor, or maybe someone that has that been [sic] in the job for a long time, just kind of show me like be like OK this is how you do it. And then they show me, and then they would see if I can do it as well”[Participant 5]
So, I’ve made a friend at work. We catch up for lunch every second week. Just for lunch and another friend she used to work with we catch up … We catch up, we socialize, we talk to each other. We hang out. I made a friend.[Participant 1]
With [workplace name] it’s it’s [sic] a bit harder because they have they have they have [sic]. They haven’t requested him coming on to the site. I think. So basically, from what I’ve heard from [disability employment consultant name] is that he does it over the phone, but with the managers to keep up.[Participant 6]
… Problem was, I was taking too long to do it, ‘cause they literally the way that I was set out to be they said they thought [sic] I had had like a few years’ experience, but I hadn’t, and I was hoping to be like at the lower level. But what they were trying to do is they’re trying to get me to take over someone else’s job[Participant 9]
3.2. Feeling Successful
“Uh, just that they are quite reliant on me being able to help the volunteers and stuff … And that they are confident that I know what I’m doing … And that I’m really good at what I do as well”[Participant 8]
3.3. Career Progression
3.4. Expectations
4. Discussion
4.1. Limitations
4.2. Future Research
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Age Range | Gender | Employment Type | Role | Length of Employment | Previous Employment | Qualifications 1 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 25–29 | Female | Retail | Back of house, food preparation | 6–12 months |
| Cert 1 & 2 in animal studies Cert 1 & 2 in digital media |
2 | 20–24 | Male | Hospitality | Cleaning carpark, restaurant and occasionally serving people, food service | 3–5 years |
| TAFE course in retail (level not specified) |
3 | 20–24 | Male | Cabinet Making | Making parts for kitchen bench work | Less than 6 months |
| Cert 3 cabinet making and joinery Responsible serving of alcohol (RSA) |
4 | 20–24 | Male | Retail | Cutting and preparing food items for sale | Less than 6 months |
| RSA Cert 1 in tourism |
5 | 25–29 | Male | Cleaning | Cleaning offices and office buildings | 6–10 years |
| Cert 2 in kitchen operations Cert 1 in front of house |
6 | 25–29 | Male | Food Service | Putting together food orders | 1–2 years |
| Cert 3 in Investigative studies |
7 | 25–29 | Male | Hospitality | Back of house, preparing and cooking orders | 6–10 years |
| Cert 2 & 3 in hospitality Barista course |
8 | 20–24 | Female | Animal Hospital | Assisting vet nurse and general care of animals | 3–5 years |
| Cert 2 & 3 in animal studies |
9 | 30–34 | Male | Cleaning | Cleaning offices and office buildings | 3–5 years |
| Diploma in geo-science |
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Sharpe, M.; Hutchinson, C.; Alexander, J. The Lived Experiences and Perspectives of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Mainstream Employment in Australia. Disabilities 2022, 2, 164-177. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities2020013
Sharpe M, Hutchinson C, Alexander J. The Lived Experiences and Perspectives of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Mainstream Employment in Australia. Disabilities. 2022; 2(2):164-177. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities2020013
Chicago/Turabian StyleSharpe, Melissa, Claire Hutchinson, and June Alexander. 2022. "The Lived Experiences and Perspectives of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Mainstream Employment in Australia" Disabilities 2, no. 2: 164-177. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities2020013
APA StyleSharpe, M., Hutchinson, C., & Alexander, J. (2022). The Lived Experiences and Perspectives of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Mainstream Employment in Australia. Disabilities, 2(2), 164-177. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities2020013