Brief Report: The Vocational and Educational Activities of Transition-Aged Autistic Youth With Low IQ

Previous research has shown that autistic transition-aged youth with low IQ experience low rates of integrated employment and postsecondary education (PSE) enrolment. Notably, much of this work was conducted over a decade ago, and the landscape of opportunities has changed since that time. Therefore, the present study described the rate of involvement in vocational and PSE activities among a contemporary sample of autistic youth with low IQ residing in the United States.

Online survey responses were collected from 91 caregivers of autistic youth with low IQ residing in the United States. The survey gathered demographic information and assessed the behavioural functioning of the youth, along with their vocational and educational experiences.

Thirty-five per cent of autistic youth with low IQ were not involved in any vocational/PSE activity. Approximately 15% of youth were participating in integrated employment (with or without supports), and 5% were enrolled in a range of degree- and non-degree-seeking PSE programmes. In a follow-up analysis, we found that youth who were engaged in vocational/PSE activities had higher family incomes, higher daily living skills, and lower rates of borderline-to-clinical levels of internalising and externalising behaviours than those who were not engaged in any vocational or PSE activity.

Our findings indicate low participation (~20%) in integrated employment and PSE programmes, despite national efforts to increase these types of activities, and highlight the continued need to remove barriers that prevent engagement in vocational and PSE activities among autistic youth with low IQ.