Understanding Perspectives of Job Coaches of Supported Employment Programs Working with Adults with Autism

ABSTRACT

Semi-structured interviews were conducted to examine the perspectives of 11 job coaches who worked with employees with autism in supported employment programs. Responses were qualitatively analysed using thematic analysis, and three top-level themes emerged: a) facilitating factors and b) barriers from their experiences working with employees with autism and c) additional resources that job coaches wished to have. Some characteristics of autism and cooperative working relationships among job coaches were facilitating factors of job coaches’ work, while employers’ and co-workers’ lack of knowledge and understanding about autism, inevitable changes in routine, and social communication difficulties of employees with autism were identified as barriers. Job coaches also mentioned that increasing autism awareness in the workplace and more practical training for job coaches would help them provide better support to employees with autism. These findings call for more structural support for all stakeholders to collaborate on making positive changes rather than put the full burden on job coaches. The need for the provision of evidence-based training programs for job coaches is highlighted.

KEYWORDS:

• Supported employment program
• job coach
• employment
• adults
• autism

Acknowledgments

This study was not funded.

Disclosure Statement

The author has no conflict of interest to declare.

Availability Of Data And Material

As the IRB regulation stipulates that only unidentifiable meta-level data can be shared, interview transcripts and audio files cannot be shared. However, the codebooks and anonymised quotes for each code are available upon request.