Workplace accommodations for adults with autism spectrum disorder: a scoping review

Abstract

Purpose: To identify workplace accommodations that can contribute to obtaining or maintaining employment for adults with autism spectrum disorder in the peer- reviewed literature.

Method: A scoping review of peer-reviewed articles published between January 1987 and March 2018 was performed. Three independent reviewers searched seven databases. Inclusion criteria for selected studies included adult with autism participants (≥18 years), intervention studies that described support for securing or maintaining employment/skills training, and education for employee/employers to support adults with autism. Results were organized based on environmental domains within the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health: (1) natural environment; (2) products and technology; (3) support and relationships; (4) attitudes; (5) services, systems, and policies.

Results: The initial search identified 829 articles, of which 25 met the inclusion criteria. The majority of the selected studies described accommodations under more than one environmental domain. Most studies categorized in the Support and Relationships domain were also categorized under another domain.

Conclusion: The majority of studies (21) were categorized as providing interventions related to employment support and relationships. One of the most common examples of support involved job coaching using different strategies. Technology is another area that is emerging and requires further exploration.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Successful workplace strategies for individuals with autism spectrum disorder were: minimizing distractions, reducing noise, and predictable job duties.

• Environmental considerations related to using technology could play an important role in improving performance and work experience.

• Employers and co-workers support is an important aspect that contributes to a positive work environment.

Keywords:

• Autism spectrum disorder
• autism
• Asperger’s syndrome
• competitive employment
• supported employment
• workplace accommodations
• scoping review

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for Drs Peter Rosenbaum and Kathy Georgiades for their contributions to this manuscript. The authors would also like to thank our community partners within this study for their support: Autism Ontario (Marg Spoelstra and Shane Cunningham Boles) and Autism LifePath.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

At the time of writing, Mrs Khalifa was supported by a scholarship through King Saud University for Health Sciences-Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This study was part of a larger project funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation SEED grant (SD91912) titled the Autism Continuum Project: Examining optimal work environments for people with autism spectrum disorder.