Autism Indicators: Using National Data to Examine Employment and Related Outcomes

Background and Purpose:  

We describe the current state of employment among people on the autism spectrum using a variety of national data sources. We also summarize recent policy changes relevant for understanding employment outcomes, especially the federally mandated increase in fiscal effort to provide vocational rehabilitation services to transition-aged youth with disabilities. 

Methods:

Statistics for this abstract come from several sources. Each describes a different population, but taken together we begin to see a picture emerge of the state of employment:

- The National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) followed secondary school students with disabilities into young adulthood from 2000-2009. This study is nationally representative.

- The U.S. Department of Education releases data each year on case closures from Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) in the Rehabilitation Service Administration Case Service Report (RSA-911). This includes information on all individuals who applied for and had a VR case opened, and reports services received while in VR and employment status at exit.

- The Social Security Administration collects data on SSI beneficiaries and compiles it in a file called the Disability Analysis File (DAF). This file contains information on beneficiary status, benefits receipt, and employment information.

- The National Core Indicators (NCI) project conducts a yearly survey to individuals with developmental disabilities who receive at least one service other than case management services. The Adult Consumer Survey (ACS) was most recently conducted in 2014/2015 in 28 states, and includes information on employment and satisfaction with employment. About 17% of respondents had autism (~4000). 

Results

- 37% of young adults on the autism spectrum are disconnected from both work and education in their early 20’s (NLTS2).

- The number of individuals with autism who applied for VR services rose from about 7,000 in 2009 up to 18,000 in 2014 (RSA).

- 46% VR service users were secondary students at the time they applied for services (RSA).

- Common services provided to VR service users with autism include on-the-job supports for supported employment, job readiness training, and job search assistance (RSA)

- Most people who get a job after leaving VR leave with part-time work (80%) and are earning below federal poverty guidelines (at $160 per week) (RSA).

- Common job types from the NLTS2, RSA, and the ACS data are similar, and the most common job type is office and administrative support. Other common job types include food services, sales, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance, transportation and material moving, and production jobs.

Conclusions:

National indicators are useful for describing the state of social problems, detecting change over time and informing policy and program design. Despite these benefits, we find that use of national statistics is an underused strategy in social work research. We reflect on lessons learned from 15 years using population data to study social problems.