Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Employment of Autistic Adults

This paper considers aspects of the employment landscape and ways in which practices focusing on employability could be more helpful to autistic people. When working in well organised, supportive environments which are conducive to success autistic employees can flourish and be an asset in the workplace. For this to happen potential employers need to understand the sort of reasonable adjustments which are necessary to enable autistic employees to reach their potential. Often these adjustments are really simple and can be achieved in the main via universal design. Preparation for employment at school, college and university requires careful consideration. Abstractly choosing a career without practical experience demands a lot of imagination and this can present a challenge. Autistic people do not always have access to good quality work experience to help them make informed choices. Interviews can create barriers and work trials often make more sense. The Equality Act and The Autism Act emphasise access to work. Various interventions exist which aim to reduce barriers to employment. They are not always joined up effectively. The aim of this paper is to equip practitioners with information which will be useful to assist autistic people to find and keep work.