Background: Many autistic young adults face significant hurdles in transitioning from high school to further education or meaningful employment. This transition period highlights a critical need for specialized career development programs designed to address their unique strengths and challenges. By providing targeted resources and tailored support, we can effectively minimize the obstacles autistic youth encounter when pursuing post-secondary paths and career opportunities.
Aims and Methods: This pioneering study explored the practicality and initial effectiveness of a concise career development program. This program uniquely combined a strengths and challenges-focused intervention with an engaging 12-week workshop series. To evaluate the program’s impact, researchers tracked changes in participant confidence and their active engagement in post-secondary activities. Twenty participants, aged 16 to 23, completed a series of questionnaires. Tools like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Strong Interest Inventory (SII) were instrumental in guiding participants towards suitable post-secondary and career directions. The Vocational Index Scale (1-9) provided a standardized measure of post-secondary participation and work hours. Confidence levels related to career transitions were gauged using the Confidence Index Interval: Entering Workforce.
Outcomes and Implications: The study’s findings strongly indicate the success of this integrated approach. The brief career development program, enriched with a strengths and challenges component, led to a significant increase in post-secondary involvement among the autistic young adults who participated (N = 20, p = 0.014). While confidence levels showed no statistically significant change, the tangible increase in participation is a noteworthy outcome.
Conclusions and Future Directions: This study successfully demonstrates the potential of a brief career development program incorporating MBTI and SII for young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The positive results underscore the urgent need for career interventions specifically tailored for the autistic population, an area currently lacking in robust research and proven methodologies. This pilot program introduces an innovative model that blends personal strengths and challenges analysis with practical workshop experiences. Notably, this project marks the first application of MBTI and SII to guide autistic youth in making informed post-secondary choices. The observed improvement in post-secondary participation provides compelling evidence for the program’s effectiveness and offers a solid foundation for broader implementation and further research in career development for autistic individuals. Encouragingly, at the program’s conclusion, numerous participants actively pursued diverse post-secondary paths, including associate’s (N = 8) and bachelor’s degrees (N = 3), trade school (N = 3), internships (N = 2), and direct employment or employment onboarding (N = 4). This pilot study significantly contributes to autism research by providing valuable insights and a promising program model to better serve the career development needs of the autistic community.
