Competitive Employment for Transition-Aged Youth with Significant Impact from Autism: A Multi-site Randomized Clinical Trial

• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-03940-2
• Publication Date: 2019-03-01T09:52:25Z
• Authors: Paul Wehman; Carol Schall; Jennifer McDonough; Adam Sima; Alissa Brooke; Whitney Ham; Holly Whittenburg; Valerie Brooke; Lauren Avellone; Erin Riehle
• Keywords: Employment; Male; Young Adult; Adolescent; Education, Special; 05 social sciences; Income; Humans; Female; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; Autistic Disorder; 3. Good health

This study reports the results of a multi-site, parallel block randomized clinical trial to expand the previous findings regarding the implementation of Project SEARCH plus ASD Supports (PS + ASD) on employment outcomes upon graduation from high school. Participants were 156 individuals with significant impact from ASD between the ages of 18-21. There was a significant difference between treatment and control groups with 73.4% of the treatment group acquiring competitive employment at or above minimum wage by 1-year after graduation compared to 17% of the control group for whom data was provided. At 1-year, employed treatment group participants worked an average of 21.2 h per week (SD = 9) for a mean hourly wage of $9.61 per hour (SD = $1.55).Clinical Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT03560453.