AUTISM & EMPLOYMENT STUDY

Investigators: Dr. Elisabeth Hill & Dr. Jo Yarker
Department of Psychology
Goldsmiths, University of London

Understanding autism and employment is important for people with autism, Asperger syndrome and other conditions on the autism spectrum, as well as for their families:

• Little is known about how caring for a child with an autism spectrum disorder effects parents’ employment decisions.
• Many adults with an autism spectrum disorder find it difficult to maintain employment.
• With an estimated 535,000 people with autism in the UK alone, this is an issue that requires attention.

These are important issues that we believe have a huge emotional, physical as well as financial impact on people with autism spectrum disorders and their families. For this reason, we have set up the Autism & Employment Study. Three phases of the study have now been completed. Initial feedback on each of these is summarised briefly below.

Research findings and next steps

We hope that this research will allow us to identify the employment-related issues that are most important to parents of children with autism and adults on the autism spectrum. We will then follow-up the issues that seem most relevant and important in further studies. We will also use the information that you provide to form the basis for advice and guidance for employers and employees.

If you have not been involved in the Autism & Employment Study in the past, but would like to hear about future projects, please contact Dr. Elisabeth Hill, Email: e.hill@gold.ac.uk, Telephone: 020 7919 7886.

Feedback from Phase 1 of the Autism & Employment Study

We asked questions about the employment experiences of parents of children with autism and adults on the autism spectrum. We had an overwhelming response to this study. Thank you to all those of you who took part.

The Parent Study: It is clear that the majority of parent respondents experience great difficulties either finding or maintaining employment. Sadly, of around 200 responses from parents, only about 30% were given time off work to attend appointments etc for their child (and only 13% were given paid time off to do this). Furthermore, only 16% felt supported by their line manager, and even fewer feel supported by their colleagues. We also asked about how satisfied parents were with various aspects of their general and work life. Here, less than half said they were satisfied with their job, one third felt committed to their organisation and only a quarter (25%) felt satisfied with the quality of their work life. This is despite many saying that they felt it was crucial to their quality of life to maintain some form of employment, for both financial but also other reasons.

The Adult Study: Although, sadly, the majority of people on the autism spectrum are unemployed, a higher proportion of our respondents were in some form of employment (full, or part-time) than is typical of this group. Around 50% of respondents reported being happy in their job, although many had struggled to remain in employment or with an employer. Varying amounts of support to obtain and cope with employment were reported. Many different challenges in maintaining employment were noted.

Feedback from Phase 2 of the Autism & Employment Study

The response to our first survey was so large, that we conducted a second survey to explore how personal employment experiences may impact on a respondent’s daily life, mental and physical health. Again, we asked people to respond if they were either a parent of a child with autism, or an adult on the autism spectrum.

The Parent Study: It is clear that the majority of parent respondents experience great difficulties in daily life, with mental and physical health issues being prevalent in this group. Although some respondents appear unaffected in these areas, there are a whole range of outcomes. A significant proportion of respondents show high levels of depression, anxiety, physical health difficulties and poor quality of life satisfaction.

The Adult Study: Just as in the second parent study summarised above, it is clear that the majority of adult respondents experience great difficulties in daily life, with mental and physical health issues being highly prevalent in this group. Although some respondents appear unaffected in these areas, there are a whole range of outcomes. A significant proportion of respondents show high levels of depression, anxiety, physical health difficulties and poor quality of life satisfaction.

The Autism & Employment Study: Parent Interviews

Finally, we have been fortunate to be able to interview a number of parents with a child on the autism spectrum to get some detailed examples of how employment and caring for a child with autism are being balanced. Needless to say, experiences are extremely varied and striking. More information on this strand of our research will be posted on this site in the coming weeks.

About us

We are psychologists working in the Department of Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London (see www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/psychology). Dr. Elisabeth Hill is an expert in the field of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, while Dr. Joanna Yarker is an expert in the field of health and employment.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the Autism & Employment study, please contact Dr. Elisabeth Hill, Email: e.hill@gold.ac.uk, Telephone: 020 7919 7886.