Job Classifications For Different Types Of Autism
According to the authors of A Parents Guide to Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism: How to Meet the Challenges and Help Your Child Thrive, a child with autism can choose from three types of employment:
- Competitive employmentthe employee should be independent, and no support is offered
- Supported employmentthe employee is part of a support system, and jobs are usually created for him/her
- Secure or sheltered employmentthe employee is given a job at a facility
The kind of employment would depend on the persons abilities. For example, a high functioning adult can be independent, so he/she can be in competitive employment. On the other hand, if your child needs care most of the time, then a supported or sheltered employment might be more suitable.
Top Autism Jobs: Choosing The Best Careers For People With Autism
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination of people with disabilities, including those with autism. To be considered for ADA coverage, the disability should be a major one that hinders a person to talk, hear, walk, and breathe normally. Unfortunately, not all employers hire people with autism, and the chances of landing jobs can be a challenge.
To counter this problem, some schools and colleges offer a transition period from school to work, giving autism employment opportunities to their graduates. While this improves the future of children with autism, it is not implemented in every school.
Paul Shattuck, associate professor at Drexel Universitys School of Public Health, says that students who graduate high school face the services cliff, which means they are cut off from the support system that the school has given them during their stay.
He adds that although federal law requires special education schools to develop a transition plan, it doesnt always happen. In fact, only 58 percent of students with autism have a transition plan by the time they reach 14 years old.
Shattuck also adds that people with autism may have challenges in social skills, but it doesnt mean that they dont want to hold jobs. He says that although the core of the disability is an inability to relate easily to other people, the majority of people on the spectrum do have some amount of social appetite.
If You Are An Employer
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Provide CVs of suitably qualified candidates who match your available job roles
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Train interviewers in your organisation to provide autism friendly interviews
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Advise on implementation of reasonable accommodations in the workplace
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Provide ongoing support to both the candidate and the company throughout employment
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What Companies Can Do To Help Autistic Employees
The journey into employment involves the autistic person and the employer. If youre considering adding an autistic employee to your team, there are things you can do to help ensure success for everyone involved.
Research from 2019 suggests a comprehensive approach that includes learning as much as you can about the symptoms and behaviors associated with autism and why they occur.
It also involves finding the best ways to support your autistic workers needs and ensuring theyre matched to a job that aligns with their interests and skills.
If youre looking to hire an autistic employee, heres a list of resources that may help you build an inclusive work environment:
What Type Of Online Jobs Are Right For You
Everyone has their own set of skills, strengths, and abilities. Its important that you find work where you can use your strengths and feel confident about doing your job.
Talking with a professional can help you identify your skills and strengths and help you find job opportunities that are suitable for you.
Consider:
- What are my strengths? Are you a strong visual thinker with an excellent long-term memory? Are you good with numbers and facts? Think about how your skills and strengths make you a valuable addition to the organization.
- What tasks do I perform best with? Do you find it difficult to multitask? Do you work best with repetitive tasks that have a clear endpoint? Think about the types of jobs that will empower you to do your best work.
- What environment do I work best in? Do you function best in a quiet, odorless environment? Do you find social interaction challenging? Think about which types of workplaces would be most safe and supportive for you
Also see 30 High-Paying Jobs With Associates Degree
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Great Career Paths For People With Autism
Can your teenager with an autism spectrum disorder enjoy a rewarding, fulfilling career? The answer is most likely yes. By paying attention to their interests and proficiencies now, you can increase their chances of finding a suitable job in the future. In this post, we will discuss possible careers for people with autism and highlight five prominent individuals with ASD who have made significant contributions to their professions.
Small Business Commits To Qualify Of Life Employing Those With Autism
Spectrum Designs is a Long Island company committed to enhancing the quality of life of people with autism, who often face barriers to employment. The company was started in 2010 by Stella Spanakos, whose son Nicholas was diagnosed with autism as a toddler and is now 22. Spectrum Designs already employs 30 people as of 2014. In 2013, the company doubled its service capacity and tripled its sales, nearing over half a million dollars.
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Benefits Of Employing People With Autism
People with autism can hold regular, full-time jobs just like neurotypical people. In fact, autistic employees might perform better than their peers.
A study conducted in Australia reveals that there are no additional costs incurred when employing someone on the spectrum. It also concludes that the quality of work and the employees work ethic is higher in autistic employees than their neurotypical counterparts.
Chargeback, a Utah-based company that investigates credit card disputes, hired Carrie Tierney, an analyst with autism, to handle technical data and repetitive tasks. Tierney gets the work done in laser-like accuracy and in half the time as new analysts. Its president, Khalid El-Awady, says hes been very impressed and plans to hire more candidates like Tierney.
Based on these and other companies feedback, the benefits of employing people with autism are:
- Better quality of work
- Unique perspective
- Less distracted by social interactions
This emerging phenomenon of integrating people with autism and other disabilities into the workforce is called neurodiversity. It is a new concept that has slowly taken off in the past few years.
Other Considerations When Employing Adults With Autism
Companies participating in these programs will need to go beyond adapting hiring and interview processes. Autism is considered a disability meaning that requests for accommodation by your employee population fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act which impacts employers with greater than 15 employees. Many of the companies are leading the charge in hiring this hidden talent pool. I am in agreement that adding leadership and manager training is also a step in the right direction, however, companies need to consider making additional accommodations they might not have considered:
- Relocating autistic workers to quieter areas of the office. Open office environments can lend to sensory overload which can create challenges for your autistic workers who can become overloaded with all the sensory distractions an environment like this can make.
- Honoring, anticipating and re-evaluating employee requests for accommodation. Take a look at your accommodation program as under the Americans with Disabilities Act. These are often small requests such as noise canceling headphones or wearing hats for light sensitivity inside the office.
- Adding autism to your corporate diversity and respect training programs. Employers spend a great deal of time and effort on diversity training, respect and awareness programs. They need to consider updating their existing programs to include information and resources on autism for their employee and leadership teams.
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So What Jobs Are Autism
The answer to that question is more about the work environment than the industry and job role. However, there are many jobs for people with autism, which they have been recognised to excel within. The suitability of these roles will depend upon the type of autism each individual has but include:
Computer programming: People with autism often do well in this job as they enjoy logical and predictable work that involves a lot of visual information.
Accounting: Accounting is a good job role for autistic people as many are extremely good with numbers. Furthermore, accounting is also based upon rules and logic meaning it is predictable and structured.
Data officer: People with autism can be exceptionally good at spotting errors due to their strong attention to detail, meaning they can excel in a role where they must identify, replicate and change information.
Graphic designer / animator: Autistic people who are good visual thinkers are well-suited to roles within graphic design and animation due to the creative outlet it provides to express their perspective and ideas.
Gardening work: Gardening work is particularly good for autistic people who struggle with social interaction due to being left alone for a lot of the time, to simply get the job done.
Companies Hiring Adults With Autism
While autism diagnosis is on the rise, an increased number of companies are establishing hiring and recruiting campaigns and building new hiring processes with this large population of workers in mind. Ive located a list of 23 companies from non-profit to small to enterprise level organizations who are actively hiring adults with autism.
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Agencies Are Just Starting To Understand Autism
Most state and federal agencies are only starting to understand what it means to support autistic adults.
Like schools, these agencies are used to finding appropriate jobs and support for people with intellectual or physical disabilitieswhich doesnt necessarily apply to autistic people.
While agencies are doing their best to catch up with the needs of a fast-growing group of autistic adults, theyre also struggling with bureaucracy and funding limitations.
As is often the case, its sometimes up to parents and autistic self-advocates to provide information, websites, and legal information to keep the agencies up to date.
What Others Say About Us
Employing people with Autism has brought a greater sense of cohesion to our teams. It has also allowed us to bring additional talent on board through a different channel as people with Autism tend to be more technically minded and think in a diverse but structured way. This is a way of harnessing that talent and diversifying our workforce at the same time.
Liam Ryan
Specialisterne has helped me go from unemployed to full time employed in the IT Sector. The excellent support, guidance and mentoring throughout the assessment and placement process, had resulted in SAP offering me a full time position. I could not have achieved this without the help and support of Specialisterne
Nick
Working with Specialisterne was a very positive experience and we would recommend them to other companies. They are always available to support both the candidate and the employer.
Cormac Donnelly
Working with Specialisterne has given us an insight into their work with adults on the autistic spectrum and the difference that they make. They are a professional company and very easy to work with.
Maeve McKeag
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Seeking Workadvice & Support For:
Advice and help for autistic people on job-seeking, writing CVs and looking for appropriate work experience, internships and apprenticeships
We understand that looking for work can be stressful, particularly if youre autistic.
We offer a range of services and resources to help you look for work and have created a handy guide that offers information and support.
In the guide you will find information and advice about looking or applying for a job, whether or not you should disclose your autism diagnosis to a potential employer and local support that we offer.
This page gives you an overview. For more information, select from the menu above or the link below.
Great Jobs For Autistic People In A Huge Range Of Industries
Jobs for autistic people are far more varied than you might realize. The stereotype of individuals who’ve been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder working alone in highly technical fields like information technology and engineering may hold true in some cases, but it doesn’t begin to cover all the job possibilities for people on the spectrum.
In fact, what makes a job autism-friendly is usually more about the work environment than the career field. Generally speaking, the best jobs for autistic adults tend to be positions that:
- Allow you to focus on one task at a time
- Have clearly defined responsibilities and expectations
- Emphasize quality and accuracy over speed
- Involve some degree of structure and routine
Fortunately, those conditions can be found in a wide range of different fields. People with autism have found success in writing, music, the visual and performing arts, accounting, law, finance, science, human services, and many other sectors.
The information below describes more than 30 potential jobs for adults with autism across a variety of sectors. It also explains some basic facts about autism and explores the issues surrounding the use of terminology like “high-functioning autism” and “Asperger’s syndrome.” In addition, it highlights several strengths that are common among people on the spectrum and provides practical tips for how you can go about getting a job.
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Effectively Manage Work Arrangements Including Any Sensory Sensitivities
As autistic people may struggle with sensory sensitivities it is important to adjust the working environment to allow them to work to their full potential. This may require an adjustment in working hours, designated desk space, adjusted lighting, the use of noise cancelling headphones and the possibility of adapted travel if required.
To find out more about adjustments in the workplace visit the National Autistic Society.
If you would like more guidance on work opportunities as a disabled person, visit our guide for disabled people.
Abilities And Strengths Of Autistic Adults That Determine The Jobs That Can Suit Them
Autistic people may display a range of strengths and abilities that can be directly related to their diagnosis, which will help determine the kind of online job that suits them
- Memorizing and learning information quickly.
- Thinking and learning in a visual way.
- Logical thinking ability.
- May excel in academic areas such as science, engineering, and mathematics as they are technical and logical subjects that do not heavily rely on social interaction.
- Having an extraordinarily good memory .
- Being precise and detail orientated.
- Exceptional honesty and reliability.
- A drive for perfection and order.
- Able to concentrate for long periods of time when motivated.
- A capability for alternate problem solving.
- A rare freshness and sense of wonderment
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Best Jobs For People With Autism In 2022
You are here:HomeCareer Ideas Jobs For People With Autism
If you have been told that you are on the autism spectrum, one of the concerns you might have is about how hard it will be getting a job with autism.
You or your family and friends might be wondering if there are jobs for autistic adults. Thankfully, there are a wide variety of positions for you to consider.
Some of them do not require any formal training, and others you can gain the skills to do in two years or less.
One of the best things you can do for yourself when you are thinking about autism employment opportunities is to consider your likes, dislikes, and skills.
Keep in mind that these are good jobs for people with autism, but you will find many others doing them who are not on the spectrum.
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Where To Find Jobs Online
There are a huge variety of remote jobs online available right now that could be great as a part-time income, or even send you into 6 figures. There are also plenty of easy online jobs that require no experience to get started.
For traditional job boards you can find a number of online positions available on the more popular sites:
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Careers For People With Autism
People with autism perform best in positions that maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. In general, they should seek jobs that provide structure, require attention to detail and avoid those that regularly involve intense interpersonal work or require a strong short-term memory. Here are eight types of occupations that may be a good fit for someone on the autism spectrum.
Whether your teen loves to draw or spends hours online, identifying and developing their skills is the key to a fulfilling career. Lexington Services specializes in helping children with autism and other learning challenges reach their full potential. to learn how Lexington Life Academy empowers its students to succeed academically, socially and professionally.
Top 10 Autism Friendly Employers
Lisa Sullivan, MS, is a nutritionist and health and wellness educator with nearly 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry.
According to research, performing job-related activities helps to reduce symptoms and increase daily living skills for those with autism however, only about half of autistic adults are employed. There’s no doubt that employment is elusive for adults on the spectrum. This reality, however, is changing fast.
A January 2019 article in Forbes,“Effective Autism Employment: A Legal Perspective.” would have been nonexistent a decade prior. The article pointed to major initiatives by top tech employers, such as SAP and Microsoft, and the beneficial impact of their workplace inclusion programs.
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