Topic > The Effectiveness of Promoting Employment for Individuals with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities

It is commonly known that young adults with autism and intellectual disabilities (ID) struggle to successfully find and maintain employment. Although a large percentage of high school students with autism and intellectual disabilities work with the goal of establishing paid employment after high school, approximately only half of these individuals actually end up finding a job. Individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities who find work usually experience a variety of challenges, from low pay for lower-level jobs, social struggles and financial difficulties. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Gilson and Carter note that there is an increase in post-secondary education (PSE) programs available to promote the employment of people with autism and intellectual disabilities through job coaching and training, particularly academic and professional skills of university students. Such programs, according to Gilson and Carter, include job shadowing, courses, and internship and networking opportunities to promote job skills and social interactions between the individual and his or her employers and colleagues. Gilson and Carter describe the use of job coaching strategies, such as task analysis, suggestions, verbal instructions, and demonstrations to teach job skills to individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities. However, Gilson and Carter note that another important element is the role of a job coach in teaching individuals to adapt socially and develop interpersonal skills in the work environment. One challenge highlighted by the authors is that a job coach's close proximity to their students can have a negative impact on the individual's ability to integrate and form interpersonal relationships. Although the authors discuss the importance of the job coach in assisting the student and providing support, they point out that supports will eventually have to fade and at that time it is important that the job coach is able to tone down the closeness to the student while still being able to provide feedback effectively. In other words, how can job coaches effectively provide instruction and give feedback to people with autism and intellectual disabilities while at the same time providing greater distance or greater proximity to the student in order to increase the individual's independence and provide them with greater opportunities for integration social in your work environment? Covert Audio Coaching (CAC) is described in this study as a tool that allows the coach to provide audio cues and feedback, discreetly and instantly to students through a bug-in-ear device and also allows for further proximity between the student and the participant. work coach. Gilson and Carter note that several studies have reported that this has been an effective method for improving vocational skills for people with autism and intellectual disabilities, but that no previous studies have been conducted on the use of CAC to improve social skills. The authors sought to find out whether college students with autism or intellectual disability would increase their social interactions in their work environment through the use of the social coaching method and whether the increase would be the result of an increase or decrease of the interaction with the job coach. The authors also wanted to know whether individuals would maintain their engagement in task behaviors as closeness to the job coach faded. Finally, the authors also sought to know the point of view of university students with autism and disabilities.