Hsu-Min Chiang et al. have an article in The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders titled "Factors Associated with Participation in Employment for High School Leavers with Autism."
High school leavers with autism from low income families are less likely to participate in employment compared to those from medium and high income families. The odds of participation in employment are 17.37 times larger if a high school leaver with autism is from a high income family compared with low income family, holding other variables constant. This finding suggests that the professionals who work with individuals with autism should be aware of the needs of the individuals with autism from low income families and provide extra support to meet the needs of these students. Because these students may not have the resources, job opportunities, and other supports that the students from high income families may have, the inadequate resources and supports available to students with autism from low income families may unfortunately lead to a low employment rate in this population. Thus, we want to call for more resources and supports (e.g., transportation, vocational training, job coach, job finding) to be provided to individuals with autism from low income families.
