Employment. Based on the commonly held notion of parents as role models, a natural connection would seem to exist between a parent’s level of employment and the work participation of their child with Autism; however, Carter et al. (2012) found no such connection. Interestingly, very few studies even examined this factor despite its close connection to the adult’s own employment experience.
Psychological Factors Various parent psychological factors and their relation to the work participation of adults with Autism have been studied over the past ten years; however, most studies have focused on a specific aspect of a parent’s belief system and their expectations toward their child’s ability to work. This aspect is addressed, but the additional …show more content…
Specifically, Taylor et al. (2015) suggest that future studies expand the scope of their research to include the effects of individual characteristics and social/contextual factors. Further study in this area would allow us to examine if a direct, predictive relationship exists between particular factors and the acquisition and maintenance of employment for adults with Autism. Although agreement is building for a few demographic factors, with the current body of research available, it is still difficult to determine and confirm each study’s findings. One reason for this may be the challenges associated with small sample and effect sizes. In example, all of the studies which included behavioral factors used small sample sizes with qualitative, and possibly subjective, interview data. In fact, the only 2 factors with multiple study consensus, are parental income and education, and even in those cases, there continues to be contradictory findings with both large and small sample sizes. Given the recent revision of the Autism Spectrum Disorder criteria in the DSM-5, it should also be noted that some studies, such as Carter et al. (2012), did specify the specific Autism Spectrum Disorder or functioning level of the individuals included in the study and, at least one study, did include individuals diagnosed with severe disabilities. Chiang et al.’s (2013) selection of individuals with Autism only could have had a potential effect on the results of their study versus
Psychological Factors Various parent psychological factors and their relation to the work participation of adults with Autism have been studied over the past ten years; however, most studies have focused on a specific aspect of a parent’s belief system and their expectations toward their child’s ability to work. This aspect is addressed, but the additional …show more content…
Specifically, Taylor et al. (2015) suggest that future studies expand the scope of their research to include the effects of individual characteristics and social/contextual factors. Further study in this area would allow us to examine if a direct, predictive relationship exists between particular factors and the acquisition and maintenance of employment for adults with Autism. Although agreement is building for a few demographic factors, with the current body of research available, it is still difficult to determine and confirm each study’s findings. One reason for this may be the challenges associated with small sample and effect sizes. In example, all of the studies which included behavioral factors used small sample sizes with qualitative, and possibly subjective, interview data. In fact, the only 2 factors with multiple study consensus, are parental income and education, and even in those cases, there continues to be contradictory findings with both large and small sample sizes. Given the recent revision of the Autism Spectrum Disorder criteria in the DSM-5, it should also be noted that some studies, such as Carter et al. (2012), did specify the specific Autism Spectrum Disorder or functioning level of the individuals included in the study and, at least one study, did include individuals diagnosed with severe disabilities. Chiang et al.’s (2013) selection of individuals with Autism only could have had a potential effect on the results of their study versus