Autism Employment Statistics: Your Complete Guide to Employment Trends Among Autistic Adults

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By: Vanessa Blanchard

1. The Autistic Worker

2. Autism Employment Trends & Statistics

3. Autism Discrimination in the Workplace

4. Factors in Succuss for Autistic Employment

5. Vocational Rehabilitation

6. A Full picture of Autistic Support Needs

7. Conclusion

8. Resources list

Unemployment in the Autistic community is known to be high. But what exactly does that mean? In general, unemployment is a term that denotes a snapshot -- a moment or two in someone’s entire career. In fact, unemployment is measured specifically in terms of someone who is without a job and is actively looking. Yet, the autism unemployment rate doesn’t represent a mere snapshot in an individual career. Rather, employment statistics around autism show a trend that is chronic and extreme. Decades of research shows that Autistic people are significantly disadvantaged when it comes to having stable careers. This article seeks to review much of that research and outline important Autistic employment statistics that cover a wide range of career-related factors, including:

• The Autistic Worker

• Autism Employment Trends

• Autism Discrimination in the Workplace

• Factors in Success for Autistic Employment

• A Full Picture of Autistic Support

• Conclusion

Data shows disproportionately high unemployment and disproportionately low wages across time and space, employment trends that cannot be attributed to individual Autistic behavior. Yet, research consistently places the responsibility to overcome on Autistic shoulders. The main focus is on teaching social skills to overcome the intense social barriers -- often framed as an Autistic person’s social deficits -- that Autistic employees face while working or seeking work. There is a clear bias, and probable misconception, about autism and where the onus falls for social competency and career success.

So, let’s break down all the Autistic employment stats, and examine what the data shows is happening in Autistic careers. We’ll start by defining the Autistic worker.

The Autistic Worker

Autism has a wide range of traits and characteristics that present differently in every person.  Here are just a few examples:

• Some will be sensory seeking, some avoiding, and some will need degrees of both.  

• Some will be extroverted, others introverted.  

• Some will be speaking and others will communicate through alternative methods.  

• Some will require high levels of support, others will be able to maintain with lower levels of support.  Most need support of some kind.  Nearly all need more support than they get.

• Etc

There are also many common co-occuring issues found alongside autism, such as ADHD, OCD, PTSD, digestion issues, Ehler Danlos Syndrome, and more.

The prevalence of autism

The CDC reports that the prevalence of autism is increasing (1).  Currently, it is believed that about 2.8% of the population (or 1:36 people), are Autistic.  The demographic makeup of Autistic diagnosis is shifting to include higher numbers of women and people of color.  Changes in these demographics are the result in shifting social understanding and shifting access to a diagnosis.

Prevalence statistics only represent those diagnosed with autism.  Autism exists without a diagnosis, and it’s often very difficult and expensive to receive one.  However, increased understanding of autism is likely to continue increasing access to a diagnosis, so prevalence will continue to grow in coming years.

The large number of late-diagnosed Autistics means there are many undiagnosed Autistic people in the workplace.  For example, some self-report measures show that the prevalence of autism almost doubles within the tech industry (2).  

Undiagnosed Autistic folks are at higher risk for career disruption because they don’t have access to accommodations or protections under disability laws.  Yet their disabilities remain.  It’s likely that outcomes could be consistent or even worse for these individuals than those represented in research.

More autism prevalence in boys than girls?

While the CDC has since updated this statistic, it has recently reported that boys were 4 times more likely than girls to be diagnosed as Autistic.  This ratio is not reflected in the Autistic community and even some research has expressed surprise at the disparity.  One study found an “unexpectedly large representation from female participants (43.31%)” (5) and quoted the CDC statistic as the reason for their surprise.

The disparity in measured prevalence by research bodies, such as the CDC, seems to exist along race and gender lines.  However, our review of the research shows that intersectionality is a factor that is rarely considered in autism employment statistics. 

Education levels among Autistic adults

Education levels vary within the Autistic population, but research indicates that it’s common for Autistic people to have at least some post-secondary education:

• One study found that 86% of their participants had completed at least some college and that 55% of participants in the study obtained a degree (5). This was by far the highest rate of completion found in decades of research.  One possible reason for this is that the participation pool of this study was skewed towards privilege (55% male, 87% white) (5).

• The National Center for Special Education Research followed a group of Autistic young adults from the ages of 18-26 and found that 44% attended post-secondary education and 17% of participants got their degree during the study (22).

• A third study found that 13% of their participants went to college and only 4.3% of participants obtained a degree during the study (15).

• Multiple studies found that academic support was directly linked with academic success for Autistic college students (15, 22).

Educated white men with family support were most likely to have positive outcomes with employment (15).  It’s also likely that scholastic accommodations drastically impact completion rates, which we’ll discuss in the Factors of Success for Autistic Employment section. Below is a graph that illustrates the attendance and completion rates found in these studies.

Autistic Work Ethic

If you talk to Autistic people about their careers, you’ll learn very quickly that many have intense work ethics.  Autistic people are reported to be 90% - 140% more productive when starting a new job.  This productivity outpaced employees who had been there for 5 - 10 years (10).  While this may seem like a bonus for employers, Autistic people will tell you that this statistic comes from intense fear that social friction will cost them their jobs.  These fears are justified.  Autistic people face social discrimination specific to autism (7).  These social biases result in uneven demands of effort and labor in social settings, where Autistic people perform all accommodation efforts and non-Autistic people do little, if any.

In fact, these uneven social demands have been repeatedly shown to be the biggest barrier to successful employment for Autistic people (14).  While studying Autistic employment experiences, Baldwin, Costley, and Warren found that, “despite their capacity and willingness to work, [Autistic people] face significant disadvantages in the labour market and a lack of understanding and support in employment settings” (16). And Müller et al. found that hard skills and work ethic weren’t enough for Autistic people to overcome social barriers in their employment (14).

Autistic people often struggle to get hired in the first place and spend an average of 12 months looking for work (11).  In contrast, the U.S. Bureau of Labor reports that unemployed people in general spent an average of 22.4 weeks to find employment (38).

Despite strong early performances, they keep their jobs for an average of 24 months (11).  This is half the U.S. average job retention rate, which is 49 months (33).  This pattern could indicate 2 possibilities:

• An increased rate of burnout among Autistic working adults.

• That social bias is a significant barrier to successful employment among Autistic people (more on this later).

The tenacity required to look for work for 12 months (on average) is not a burden non-autistic people bear.  Autistic people are required to outwork their peers, and they aren’t allowed to keep their jobs for 5-10 years.

Employers of Autistic people would be better prepared for mutual cooperation if they were made aware of these issues.  Education on this topic should examine the relationship between work ethic, social bias, and burnout.  It will demystify a lot of behavior.

The Hidden Costs of Autism Over a Lifetime

Survival is tied closely to stable employment, therefore a holistic view of Autistic living is necessary. Conditions in and out of the workplace significantly impact each other and these costs are key to understanding some of that interconnectedness.

From 1990 - 2019, there were a total of $7 trillion in social costs for Autistic folks in the U.S. (25).  This amounts to about $3.6 million in social costs over a single lifetime for an Autistic person (25). These costs include increased medical and psychiatric expenses as well as lost wages and productivity.  The measure also considers costs associated with therapy, education, accommodations, and respite care.

Lifetime medical costs for Autistic people are up to six times as high as the national average (24).  Medication costs were also higher, especially for gastro-intestinal needs and for psychiatric medication.  Autistic folks had on average 40% more subscriptions than non-Autistic peers (24).  These costs increased steadily over the Autistic person’s lifetime.  

Additionally, people with “high functioning”* autism were at least four times more likely to need inpatient psychiatric services (24).  There are many co-occurring conditions common to autism.  For example, Autistic folks have higher rates of trauma and PTSD, perhaps with worse symptoms than their non-Autistic peers (27).  Research indicates that there is a cumulative effect for trauma in Autistic groups, which means that they could be more susceptible to developing PTSD (27).

This is important, because burnout is often reported as being very traumatic, as well as being induced by chronic stress and social trauma.  Self-reporting indicates that burnout plays a significant role in every working Autistic person’s life (28).  

Having access to lifelong support in their daily lives has been shown to increase Autistic wellness, both physically and mentally.  Yet the very definition of “high functioning”* insinuates that a lack of support is needed.  In practice, little, if any, support exists for many Autistic adults.

Despite these costs outpacing the national average in several ways, these expenses represent less than 5% of all costs associated with autism (24).  58% of all social costs will come from a “loss of productivity” (25).  This includes lost wages from multiple sources:

• Struggling to find anything other than low paying jobs

• Chronic unemployment

• Periods of time when they are unable to work (i.e. due to burnout)

• Long stretches of time spent looking for work

• Lost wages due to caretaking for other Autistic individuals 

Issues like burnout and discrimination increase these “loss of productivity” costs for many reasons.  Symptoms of burnout can last for months increasing the amount of time between jobs.  Social biases contribute to lost productivity by increasing the chronic stress the Autistic person experiences at work and by increasing the likelihood of termination.

The Costs of Late-Diagnosis and the Privilege of a Diagnosis

When studying the economic costs of autism, Rogge and Janssen said, “[Anecdotal] evidence obtained from families or individuals with ASD shows that the diagnosis process can be a real struggle, with, among other things, long waiting lists and high upfront costs.” (24).

In the United States, a diagnosis can cost as much as $2,750 (24).  

Adulthood diagnosis is a common experience for Autistic people.  Lack of professional awareness, long waits, and high costs can delay a diagnosis for years, or prevent one entirely.  Autistic people who make it into adulthood without a diagnosis often don’t know about their neurology, which means that they don’t have information about their needs. Issues like Autistic masking, burnout, and PTSD will have run amok in their lives.  They are less empowered to care for or advocate for themselves, and they won’t have access to accommodations and protections under the laws like the ADA (30).

A diagnosis is one small piece of an Autistic person’s lived experience, yet it’s clear that autism-specific hidden costs spring up and balloon very quickly from daily life.

Autism Employment Trends

Now that we’ve given an overview of the Autistic worker, let’s look at employment trends for Autistic folks around the world.  Extremely high unemployment rates, persistent under-employment, and disproportionately low wages are common knowledge in the Autistic community.  Research not only supports these claims, but demonstrates that this issue is specific to autism and transcends both time and location.  

Autistic unemployment trends are an intergenerational, international problem.

Autism Employment Rates

Employment rates have been disproportionately low for Autistic people around the world  for decades (15).  In fact, research has shown that Autistic people are the least employed disabled group (32). The chart below demonstrates employment rates among disabled groups in the UK in 2020 (3).

It can often be hard for Autistic people to find inclusion into traditional work environments to begin with. Instead, many Autistic people find themselves “being served in either facility-based work or community-based nonwork programs” (15).  Programs like these have been shown to lower quality of life by not providing adequate stimulation, purpose, independence, or social belonging (29).

Yet issues like social isolation are reported, even among Autistic people who gain traditional employment (34).  Discrimination and a lack of support follow Autistic people into the workplace, despite many protections put in place to help.  Again, data indicates that these oversights are specific to the presence of autism (7).

In the U.S., social isolation for Autistic people starts in primary school and continues into adulthood.  Autistic adults are an overlooked population.  It’s assumed that those who need support can’t work and those who can work don’t need support.  

But research doesn’t support this conclusion.  Rather, as Roux et al. stated in their National Autism Indicators Report on Vocational Rehab, “their need for help does not go away in adulthood and many will have great difficulty finding and keeping employment” (26).

Additionally, the Department of Labor promotes the Employment First philosophy, which is, “centered on the premise that all individuals, including those individuals with the most significant disabilities, are capable of full participation in Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) and community life”(31).  

Despite this philosophy -- and several laws protecting disabled folks at work -- un and under-employment plague the Autistic community.  Loopholes remain in labor laws that allow denial of accommodations.  Supports remain ineffective and hard to access.  Additionally, research shows that the more support an Autistic person receives, the lower their wages are (see the Vocational Rehabilitation section).  Medical, corporate, and government systems all deny Autistic people access to competitive integrated employment.

To demonstrate this, let’s break down some statistics for different aspects of Autistic employment.

Autism Employment Rates by Study

The collection of statistics on autism employment rates paint a grim picture of Autistic employment across time and culture:

• Research conducted in the 50’s found that only 3 of 63 participants (5%) found jobs when they entered adulthood (18)

• Research from 1973 found that 11 of 96 adults (11%) had jobs in their 20’s and 30’s (18)

• 1974 study followed 22 adolescents and found that 1 (5%) got a job after completing school (18)

• Research in 2002 showed that 15% of Autistic people found a job their first year out of high school.  As participants aged, this rate went up to 63%.  All other disabled groups saw their employment rates raise from 54% in the first year to 91% over the course of the study (18)

• A study published in 2011 found that 37% of the participants were employed at the time of the interview (11)

• A study in 2012 reported a 25% employment rate (13)

• Another 2012 study found that 60% of their participants found employment (15)

• Research in 2017 found that 61% of their participants were employed at the end of their study.  Nearly 1/3 of the 39% not employed hadn’t been able to find a single job (5)

• Other worldwide outcomes:

• Japan (1992) 20% employment rate (18)

• Canada (2008) 56% employment rate (18)

• UK (2009) 18% employment rate (18)

• UK (2020) 31% employment rate (3)

• UK (2021) 39% employment rate (3)

Within the community, employment rates improved slightly with “higher functioning”* subsets of Autistic participants, but wages, hours, and job advancement did not (18).  

Below is a graph that contrasts the autistic unemployment rate with the national unemployment rates for each country represented in this article.  National unemployment rates match the year each respective study was completed.

This long standing pattern of unemployment transcends both space and time and likely reflects a few factors:

• The disabling nature of autism

• The marginalization of Autistic individuals

• The compounding injury of sustained poverty, repeated turnover, trauma, and burnout

More research is needed into the causation of these consistently poor outcomes, but systemic failures are surely a major contributing factor.  This will be discussed and supported with further research later in the article.

Autistic Adults and Underemployment

Underemployment is another common status for working Autistic adults.  There are several things that constitute underemployment (5):

• Involuntarily works less than full time

• Works full time without earning a living wage

• Job doesn’t utilize the person’s skillset

• Job provides less status because of background

As we work through the data on hours and wages, you’ll see another recurring pattern:  Autistic people get stuck in entry-level, low paying jobs, even with higher education degrees (5).  In fact, many Autistic people report that “menial jobs” were the only type of job available to them (12).

Research backs these reports up.  Studies have shown that many aren’t able to find jobs that match their qualifications (12). Even those with higher education degrees worked low paying, entry-level, part-time jobs (18).  One study reported that 45% of employed participants were overqualified for their jobs (16).

Average Hours Worked by Autistic Adults

The majority of working Autistic people work part-time.  Studies have shown that Autistic people work an average of 23 to 24.1 hours per week (15, 18).  Here is a breakdown of a few individual stats on part-time status and hours worked among Autistic populations:

• A 2008 study found that most of their participants worked, or volunteered, an average of 5 hours a week (18).

• A 2011 study followed 66 participants for 10 years and found that none worked full-time. Only 6% had “competitive jobs” (18)

• A 2012 study found that only 25% of the working participants worked more than 30 hours/week (15)

• A 2016 study into Vocational Rehabilitation outcomes for Autistic folks found that 80% of those employed worked-part time (26)

• This report notes that the U.S. average for part-time workers is 19%

• A 2017 study found that 46% of those employed worked part-time (5)

This research is also supported by Vocational Rehabilitation tracking systems.  Data from these systems note that Autistic folks routinely work fewer hours and earn lower wages than other disabled groups (18, 26).

Many Autistic people report that part-time work is an accommodation that allows them to maintain employment.  However, research into the hidden work of autism is minimal.  Where part-time effort is assumed, intense emotional labor seems to be taking place.  Autistic people report needing to develop a lot of soft skills that most workplaces don’t consider when measuring productivity.  Masking (36), extra communication, self-regulation, conflict management, navigating microaggressions, and keeping their disability hidden are all examples of hidden labor that is required from Autistic people.  

It’s possible that Autistic labor -- including the number of hours being invested in said labor --  is being overlooked.  By measuring productivity solely based on non-disabled standards, Autistic efforts are easily dismissed as inefficient (9).  This is despite the fact that research indicates that Autistic people are more productive than their peers (10).  

It’s also possible that Autistic people prefer part-time hours because those are their only “productive” hours, despite the fact that there’s no research that indicates full-time workers are productive for all 40 hours (43). This possibility denotes a need for advocacy support in social settings such as workplaces.

How much money do Autistic people make?

The trends among pay rates for Autistic people are perhaps the most egregious part of the equation.  Because not only are they routinely low, they are lower than others who do the same jobs.  Research indicates that hourly wages are lower because autism is present.  Let’s break that down a little by looking at average wages found in different studies into Autistic employment trends:

• One study found Autistic adults made an average of $7.91 per hour (in 2012) and that only 25% made more than $8.33 per hour (15)

• Another found that their participants made an average of $9.20 per hour (11). 

• A study in 2004 followed 68 Autistic adults for 7 to 29 years and found that only 2 had worked for full salary (18). 

One study noted that it couldn’t identify factors that impacted hourly wage.  The authors suggested that it was because there was so little variation from the mean hourly wage (15). 

Could there be so little variation because autism is the factor?

Data from Voc Rehab supports this possibility.  Wage statistics from Voc Rehab programs across the U.S. show that the few supports that do exist for Autistic adults result in even lower hourly wages (18).  Let’s look at these stats from Voc Rehab tracking to compare average wages between Autistic people and their peers:

• Autistic people worked an average of 22-26 hours/wk, and brought home an average of $175-$216/wk (26)

• All other participants in Voc Rehab worked between 29-32 hours/wk, and brought home between $271-$322/wk (26)

In reviewing Voc Rehab efficacy, data demonstrated that using Vocational Rehabilitation services results in higher employment but consistently lower wages (26).  Autistic participants made less money than all other disabled groups participating in the same program (26).

In contrast to all of this data, average wages in the U.S. are as follows:

• Depending on the industry, hourly pay averages between $20.93 and $49.52 (35)

• Average weekly pay averaged between $535.18 and $2,089.92 (35)

While more research is needed, there is a consistent pattern of Autistic people making significantly lower hourly wages than their peers.  There is a clear link between the specific condition and below-poverty wages across the board.  It would appear that current legislation that seeks to protect disabled people is lacking in wage protections for Autistic folks.

When compared to U.S. national averages, it would seem that no disabled group is gaining competitive compensation from Vocational Rehabilitation programs.

Autistic Employee Retention Rates

Most of the research into Autistic employment trends defines successful employment in one of two very limited ways:

1. Are they employed on a specific date? (i.e. the time of interview or the end of the study)

2. Have they been employed for 90 days?

The majority of the studies reviewed for this article relied on the first definition to determine employment.  Vocational Rehabilitation -- and related research -- used the second.  Very few measured employment success past the initial 90 days.  

Even with these limited definitions of employment success, the statistics look grim. 

Research indicates that Autistic people hold a job for an average of 24 months (11). This same study found that Autistic people had an average of 3 jobs over the 8 year study and spent an average of 12 months looking for work (11). A different report found that participants averaged 4-5 jobs over the 5 year study (5).  In contrast, the Department of Labor reports that American workers keep their job for an average of 4.1 years (49 months) (33).

Job instability was common, even among the currently employed (5).  Ohl et al. reported that 35% of their participants who were unemployed had either quit their jobs or were fired (5). Newman et al. found that 31% of those who were unemployed in their study were either fired or let go in some way (19% were laid off, 12% were fired) (11).  Another 45% of this group were in temporary positions that had ended (11).  76% of the unemployed Autistic people in this study had lost their job in some way (11).

Perhaps most disturbing were the 16% of unemployed Autistic people who were simply no longer able to keep working (5).  Issues like chronic stress, and burnout point to the possibility that adverse work conditions might lead to increased disability in autistic people.

Miscellaneous 

Here are a few miscellaneous statistics about Autistic employment that are noteworthy.

Autistic Adults with Job-Related Benefits

Research indicates that Autistic people do not have access to many of the benefits that come with employment.  For example, only 30% of employed Autistics had health insurance and only 27% had any retirement benefits (11).  

High rates of unemployment, majority part-time hours, low wages, and high rates of temporary and/or freelance work are likely all contributing factors to these statistics.

Job Satisfaction 

When surveyed, more than half of Autistic people reported an effort/reward imbalance (ERI) in their jobs (5).  In fact, Ohl et al. noted that 62% of those unemployed at the end of their study reported high effort to low reward ERI Ratios (5).

Chronic work-related stress is characterized as high effort, low payoff (19), so it’s noteworthy that the majority of unemployed Autistic folks reported chronic stress.  Research also indicates that lower effort and higher reward ERI ratios are associated with better health than those with inverse ERI ratios (5). 

One probable source of this chronic work-related stress is social friction.  In the next section, we’ll discuss how social issues contribute to the dire employment statistics found among Autistic people.

Autism Discrimination in the Workplace

“Social Deficits” in Autism

The overwhelming majority of research and clinical definitions of autism focus on “social deficits” as a core trait or disability.  For example, the National Institute of Mental Health says that autism is characterized by, “ongoing social problems that include difficulty communicating and interacting with others” (4)

Autistic self-reporting -- and much of the research -- shows that social discrimination is just as ever-present as autism itself.

The Social Model of Disability: How Autistic People View Things

Autism is often treated as a temporary disability that can be cured or outgrown.  Supports for Autistic adults are rare and temporary.  This is known as the medical model of disability and is reflected in research that solely advocates for teaching social skills to help Autistic people overcome their deficits (44).  Yet, most disabilities, such as autism, are lifelong and won't be cured.  Rather, the social model of disability advocates for changes in environment to support the disability (44).

For Autistic people, this means providing environments that actively work to dismantle the social biases that lead to discrimination, marginalization, mobbing, and termination (7). This work starts with recognizing the hidden labor Autistic people already perform to maintain social harmony.

How Autistic People Accommodate Non-Autistic People in Social Settings

Social skills are something that every human must develop and even non-Autistic people have so-called deficits.  Even so, Autistic people overwhelmingly report exerting tremendous effort to socialize “properly” (36).

One example of these efforts is Autistic masking, which is when a person hides aspects of their personality and/or disability in order to avoid harassment, marginalization, and discrimination (28).  At work, Autistic people report using masking to avoid social conflict and termination (37).  It requires an immense amount of energy to sustain, doesn’t work, and leads to physical and mental illness.  

This is reflected by the data that suggests that 16% of unemployed Autistic people couldn’t work anymore (5).  Remember, 62% of unemployed Autistic people report high stress, low reward working conditions (5) and Autistic people are known to be at a heightened risk for stress-related illness (27).  

There’s ample research and anecdotal evidence showing the direct link between social conflict and stress-related disability in Autistic people.  Research repeatedly claims that autism is characterized by social deficits, yet their own statistics overwhelmingly suggest that social discrimination is the biggest barrier to sustained employment (14) based solely on the presence of autism (7).

The Impacts of Workplace Discrimination on Autistic Employment 

When studying social dynamics at work, researchers noted that Autistic behaviors were often misinterpreted, which lead to isolation (12).  Social demands were cited as the biggest obstacle to job success (14) and a major reason for termination (12, 14).  Communication breakdowns have also been cited as a major barrier to interview success (14).  

The freeze-out of Autistic communication styles hinders hiring and retention for Autistic people, despite the Autistic’s best efforts.  This is reflected both in high turnover rates among Autistic employees and in lengthy job search averages (11) that far outpace the national average in the U.S. (38).

Autistic people reported that social interactions were bigger difficulties at work than the jobs themselves (12).  Chen et al. states that Autistic people “typically do not have difficulties with job tasks, [rather] deficits in social interaction are a major obstacle to their employment” (18).  And Muller et al. found that hard skills and work ethic were not enough to overcome social barriers (14).

Social deficits? Or Social bias?

It wouldn’t represent the Autistic community well to assert that social difficulties weren’t part of Autistic experience.  

However, the deficit approach to autism places the onus of communication success solely on Autistic shoulders, as evidenced by researchers' repeated suggestions that interpersonal skills be taught to Autistic folks (12).  While these -- and many other soft skills -- are surely highly valued at work, this suggestion alone overlooks the obvious presence of discrimination in Autistic social lives.  

Evidence does not support the notion that Autistic people can “behave” their way out of the effects of social discrimination (7, 12, 14, 18, 20, 34, 36, 37).

Sasson et al. found that Autistic people reported high social interest but experienced high rates of loneliness (7, 34).  Said Dr. Noah Sasson, of the University of Texas at Dallas,  "We tend to think of social difficulties in autism as an individual impairment. But social interaction is a two-way street, and their social challenges are often affected by the judgments and social decisions made by those around them” (34).  

He also noted that Autistic people were able to tell when people were treating them poorly (34).  This is supported by a report that found that managing social interactions created significant stress in Autistic people, which was reported to be another significant barrier to gaining employment (12).

The Many Forms of Workplace Discrimination

Despite all Autistic effort to overcome social friction, social stigma and bias were still limiting factors in their career building (20). Here are a few ways these stigmas and biases show up in the workplace:

• Thin slice judgements (7) - Non-Autistic people judge Autistic people harshly based on split-second observations of autism-specific non-verbal cues.  These negative judgements are “remarkably robust,” unchanged over time and exposure, and result in alienation of the Autistic person.  

• Ableism (9) - The systemic discrimination and systemic distrust against disabled people can be found at work in many ways, including micromanagement (9), underemployment (5), marginalization (29), and bullying or mobbing (8).  Negative assumptions about the value of one’s  job performance or the validity of one’s disability (9) plague Autistic people at work.  For example, in one study, 73% of Autistic participants disclosed their disability and only 37% of those people received accommodations from their jobs (11).

• Mobbing (8) - Mobbing is a form of group or systemic bullying that seeks to marginalize and exclude a person from a group or organization.  This shows up at work in the form of denied accommodations, distrust, ableism, and more.  The behaviors limit the targeted person in several ways:

• Not allowing them to express themselves or explain their perspective

• Decreasing access to social aspects of work (conversations, plans, trainings, gatherings, etc)

• Attacking the target’s reputation (micromanaging, devaluing performance, gossiping, defaulting to distrust based on the target’s disability)

• Diminishing the target’s quality of life at work (social exclusion, underemployment, imposing stress through workloads, creating financial damages)

• Damaging the targeted person’s health through work-specific conditions (excessive exertion demands, high stress, threats of violence, actual violence)

Mobbing as a system protects any individual from accountability while enabling marginalizing behaviors.  Here are a few examples of this in action:

• Viewing accommodations as luxuries rather than necessities

• Firing an Autistic person because they are a “bad fit” for a company after their health declines from working without accommodations.  

• Disregarding job performance and focusing on “social deficits” or other stereotypes of autism during evaluations

Teaching Autistic Communication to Non-Autistic People

According to the thin slice judgment research conducted by Sasson et al., social biases against Autistic people are pronounced and pervasive (7).  But, social biases can be successfully challenged with “meaningful interactions.”  

However, Sasson et al. note that Autistic folks get fewer of these opportunities (34).  

Autistic people are marginalized by thin slice judgments, which robs them of chances to socialize and/or have meaningful interactions with non-Autistic folks (7).  Then, they are characterized as having deficits in social development (4). 

Factors in Succuss for Autistic Employment

Plenty of research agrees with Sasson et al..  Adjusting social expectations and cooperative management were two major factors found in employment success for Autistic folks (29). It’s unfair to assume Autistic individuals can facilitate these changes alone.  There are many forms of support that can improve outcomes in Autistic employment:

• Employee Resource Groups can assist with outreach, education, and mediation, reducing marginalization and increasing retention (6).

• Job placement services, such as Vocational Rehabilitation, can improve at least short-term employment outcomes (26) by 4 times (15).

• Academic support during higher education can increase graduation rates (15) and job success (5).

• On-the-job support will increase job retention and success (15)

• Off-hours, at home support increases job attendance, performance, and retention (5, 12, 24)

To get a better idea of what works and why, let’s look at the statistics and research behind specific interventions.  We’ll discuss both the benefits and limitations of each intervention as outlined by the research.

Job Preparation and Placement Services

There’s very little support for Autistic people as they transition into adulthood, and the supports that exist become much harder to attain (39). According to Anne Roux, of the Drexel University Life Course Outcomes Research Project, 70% of families report increased difficulty in attaining supports as their children reach adulthood.  And 28% of Autistic young adults who qualify for services report receiving no support at all (39).  However, Roux notes that in order to qualify for most adult services, an Autistic person needs to have an intellectual disability (39).  This means that Autistic people without intellectual disabilities and/or without the proper diagnoses are left with next to no support in adulthood.

However, research shows that services that help with job preparation and job placement improve Autistic employment statistics.  Let’s look at some specific supports that can help Autistic people find work, both fresh out of high school and later in their careers.

College Accommodations for Autism

Multiple studies have found that providing accommodations for Autistic students improved graduation rates (20).  In fact, those with college support for autism were 14 times more likely to graduate than those without (15).

Where Academic Support Falls Short

These supports were far from guaranteed, though.  One study found that 34% of Autistic college students were given some form of support with their classroom (22), while another study found that only 10% had access to scholastic support (15).

Graduation rates varied between studies, with the highest being 55% (5).  One study found that 17% graduated (22) while another found that 4.3% attained a degree of some kind (15).  It’s noteworthy that the participants in the study with the highest completion rate also reported high degrees of family support during their early adulthood. 

The statistics are clear that access to support improves not only access to advanced education, but the chance to succeed. 

Disclosing Autism to Schools and Employers

Disclosure increases the chance of success at work and school because it gives chances for accommodations to occur.  However, these benefits were not guaranteed and came with risks of increased discrimination and withheld opportunities. Autistic people who disclosed their autism were 3x more likely to be employed, but disclosure came with an increased risk of being not hired or fired (5).  Here are a couple statistics about the impact of disclosure on Autistic employment:

• Ohl et al. found that twice as many employed Autistics disclosed to their employers as those who were unemployed (5).

• Newman et al. found that, while 73% disclosed their autism, only 37% received accommodations from employers (11).

Because education is listed as a factor in job success (5), it should be noted that these disclosure patterns are echoed in post-secondary education environments.  The National Longitudinal Transition Study reported that 62% of students disclosed their autism to their school, but only 34% were given help with school work (22).

The burden of disclosure on Autistic people

Coming out as Autistic is not easy.  Autistic people fear the repercussions because they’ve experienced them already.  Forcing an Autistic person to out themselves creates many extra burdens that non-Autistic peers don’t shoulder.

First, diagnosis is a privilege.  As discussed before, access to a diagnosis isn’t guaranteed due to stigmatized beliefs held by medical professionals, long wait times, and high costs (24).  

Disclosure also comes with the very real threat of stigma, discrimination, and backlash (17).  If social deficits are truly a part of autism, then the task of identifying when to disclose, and to whom, is a burden on the “very nature of this disability” (17).  This issue is compounded by a lack of diagnosis, as there are then no legal protections from these risks, but the fallout will remain.

Accommodations for Autism

As with most disabilities, accommodating autism will be absolutely vital to an Autistic person’s success at work and in daily life.  Common accommodations for Autistic people include (23): 

• Small groups

• Accessible language

• Advanced notice

• Clear instructions

• Predictable expectations

• Decompression room/time

• Sensory accommodations

• Social accommodations 

As many Autistic adults will attest, denied accommodations are common and serve to marginalize them within the company (8).  One study found that 73% of their participants disclosed their autism, but only 37% received accommodations (11).  You can see similar results in disclosure/accommodation receipt in higher education as well.

Denial of accommodations creates significant systemic barriers to employment success for Autistic people.  

The burden of disclosure and accommodation seeking before or during employment requires one person to not only navigate the application process, but perfect their self-advocacy as a member of a marginalized group.  

The Almost Non-Existent Costs of Accommodating Autism

Most of the solutions to this issue involve a shifting of ideas, perspectives, and managerial approaches.  Jacob et al. advises management to consider skillbuilding towards overcoming conversational snags with Autistic folks, communicating clarifying information, developing awareness of sensory needs and reactivity, flexibility in social rule enforcement and social expectations, flexibility to personalize job placement that matches strengths and abilities (29). Examples of these suggestions in action could include:

• Redefining jobs away from unsupported customer facing roles

• Building knowledge base articles for accessibility during training

• Providing written instructions

• Training management on Autistic communication styles

• Non-reaction during self-regulation activities, such as wearing headphones or tinted lenses

• Providing low-sensory zones for self-regulation

• Mentorship and one-on-one communication

• Active trust-building efforts

• Ensuring more than one Autistic person works within your organization

Most of the costs associated with these adjustments are in labor and training. Modifying sensory spaces involves small equipment costs such as noise machines and dimmer switches. Higher end costs include creating Employee Resource Groups as part of your DEI infrastructure.  However, these are costs that are not recurring for every Autistic employee. Investing in ERGs ensures that the company can increase retention and meet their goals (6). The presence of many of these cultural shifts also reduces the burden on Autistic people to prove a diagnosis and/or disclose their disability.

In the Autistic Worker section of this article, we demonstrated that Autistic people tend to have excellent work ethics (10), tend to be skilled at their jobs (10, 12, 14, 16), and tend to be interested in social inclusion (7).  By incorporating changes in management’s knowledge and in company practice, an environment of mutual support is created.  Supporting Autistic people allows them the space to thrive in their jobs.  As Jacob et al. notes, mutual support creates the best environment (29).

This is a form of community support that can be put in place to aid in job placement and retention.  In our next section, we’ll discuss one of the most influential job placement services available to those in the United States: Vocational Rehabilitation. 

Vocational Rehabilitation

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is a job preparation and placement service offered at the state level to disabled people in the United States.  The services offered through VR differ from state to state, but VR is the biggest, most organized resource and is likely the best example available of job placement services that translate to success.

One reason VR is so helpful is the data it keeps across the nation.  Through those statistics, we can see both the strengths and weaknesses of VR as it applies directly to Autistic employment outcomes.

Strengths of Vocational Rehabilitation for autism

As mentioned before, research has shown that job placement services increase Autistic employment rates by 4 times (15) and that on-the-job support significantly improved outcomes after hire (12).  Vocational Rehabilitation offers both of these services to varying degrees, depending on the state.  Their data shows that 60% of Autistic people who attended VR were employed when they exited the program (26).

If diagnosed with a disability, it is easy to join VR and receive access to many supports (40):

• Career counseling

• Aptitude and Interest tests

• Vocational Training

• Resume and Interview workshops/counseling

• Some community outreach and networking support

• Supported employment (41)

Having access to VR helps Autistic people navigate social ambiguity, executive dysfunction, transitions, skill development, career development, social integration, and general independence.

Weaknesses in Vocational Rehabilitation

Unfortunately, Vocational Rehabilitation has a reputation for being woefully unprepared to navigate Autistic (and other neurodivergent) needs (12).  There are a number of ways in which improvements to the program could improve Autistic employment outcomes.  However, VR’s own data demonstrates that there are many ways that participating in these programs might actually harm Autistic employees.

Before we dig into specifics, here are a few examples of limitations in VR:

• Services and outcomes varied wildly between states (26)

• Stated goals of support programs include moving people away from “reliance on entitlement programs,” (40) forcing a degree of self-reliance that places another burden on the very nature of Autistic disability

• VR defines successful employment as retention for 90 days (26), meaning success rates only reflect short-term Autistic experiences

• Access to the program remained low, despite its noted benefits (15)

• Services are not tailored to Autistic or neurodivergent needs (15)

The reported inadequacy of Voc Rehab support goes back to at least 2002 (12).  One example is VR’s tendency to assume successful employment after 90 days of retention with a cap of 180 days for services (26).  This practice also doesn’t consider the statistically high turnover rates (11) or the Autistic person’s lifelong need for support (39).

Wages for Autistic workers in Voc Rehab are extremely low

Autistic people who worked through VR earned below poverty-level wages.  80% of those employed through VR services worked part-time with an average weekly income of $160 (26).

Supported employment resulted in even lower pay (26).

Below is a table that shows how wage outcomes were even worse for those who received on-the-job support as part of their Vocational Rehabilitation.

Part-time Wages

• 90% of Autistics with supported employment worked part-time and with median weekly earnings of $145 per week (26). 

• 76% of Autistics without supported employment worked part-time with median wages of $170 per week (26).

Full-time Wages

•  Only 7% of Autistic people with supported employment worked full-time and brought in a median wage of $360 per week (26)

• 19% of Autistics without supported employment worked full-time and made a median wage of $388 per week (26)

National Averages

• US average for part-time workers 19% (26)

• Median weekly earnings for full-time employee in US is $791 (35)

• Median weekly earnings for part-time employees in the U.S. are $340 (42)

As you can see, the higher the degree of support, the lower the wages Autistic people receive.  Not only that, but the best wage outcomes among Autistic people ($388/week) were only slightly higher than lowest wages among the general population ($340/week).

Services Offered and Employment Outcomes Varied by State

Despite the fact that Vocational Rehabilitation has been found to improve employment outcomes, services aren’t widely available.  One study found that only 48% of their participants were given access to VR services (15).  This same study noted that many Voc Rehab counselors weren’t properly trained in working with Autism and other neurodivergence folks (15).  This lack of training, and the variations in what types of services are even offered, resulted in uneven outcomes.  

How can a career plan be customized to a disability that no one in Voc Rehab knows anything about?

Here are a few statistics to help demonstrate the range of services and outcomes:

• Services 

• 100% of Autistic participants in Iowa received on-the-job support, while 11% in Maine did, 8 states didn’t offer on-the-job support to any Autistic folks (26, pg 67)

• Outcomes

• The rate of Autistic folks who left VR employed ranged from 79% in Alabama and S. Dakota to 34% in Florida. (26)

• Median hourly wage across states ranged from $7.45 to $9.80 (26)

Autistics made significantly less than the median rate for the state in every single state, the difference going as high as $22.95/hr (26).

No Autistic person in Voc Rehab made $10/hour or more. No state recorded a median income of less than $13/hour.

So, while Vocational Rehabilitation can certainly improve employment outcomes for Autistic people, it doesn’t appear to help protect against the overall trends of underemployment, or severely low wages.  Nor does it seem prepared to account for the fact that discrimination specific to autism is a factor in all of these issues.

To improve these shortcomings, Migliore et al. suggests that Voc Rehab, “appraises the effectiveness of service providers who subcontract with VR, and the education and qualifications of the support staff who assist job seekers” (15).  Equipping VR counselors with better understanding about autism, Autistic experiences, and social discrimination will certainly help.  Other approaches, such as reforming and/ or standardizing services, increasing access to said services, and tailoring services to actual Autistic needs will also improve Autistic employment outcomes.

A Full picture of Autistic Support Needs

Autism persists across one’s entire lifetime and its impact on someone’s career is only part of the picture.  Autistic employment statistics suggest that support both on and off the clock are essential to long term career success and financial stability (12).  Ironically, independent living for Autistic people is most successful with a stable network of support for various areas of their lives.

Legislative Support for Autistic Adults

The obvious and longstanding discrimination against Autistic people has been clearly demonstrated in the research and within this article.  The lack of awareness about autism has created policy gaps that serve to marginalize and harm Autistic people (i.e. default policies dictating that social supports should be short-term).  These policy gaps perpetuate several ruthless cycles:

• Inescapable poverty

• Social isolation

• Career suppression

• Lack of meaningful stimulation

• Severe and escalating mental and physical health complications

• An inability to thrive regardless of personal effort or character

Labor laws are needed worldwide that acknowledge the ongoing systemic oppression of specifically Autistic people. 

Educational Support for Autistic Adults

Education has been shown by some research to be one of the biggest predictors of career success for Autistic adults (5). Supported education in childhood is known to be effective (39), but access to these supports drops significantly for post-secondary education.  As few as 1 in 10 Autistic adults had access to support services in post-secondary education (15) despite the fact research also shows these supports increase graduation rates (20).

Job placement and Skill development support for Autistic Adults

Support in finding and maintaining a job increased success for Autistic adults, but access to support at any point is low, which indicates that systemic barriers (stigmas/lack of awareness for neurodivergence in employment programs) exist (5) that are specific to autism (7).

Job placement should include individual education about autism and how Autistic needs impact working life.  Understanding autism is crucial to an Autistic person’s ability to participate in the workforce at all, let alone succeed (20). 

Supports for skill building and job placement should also include the following:

• Navigating gaining access to vocational training and/or college admissions 

• Financial planning

• Business/Entrepreneurial training

• Interpersonal skills training

• Modern resume and interview support

• Personality and Interest Assessments

• Aid with functional aspects of job searching, housing, equipment, transportation, clothing, etc.

Executive dysfunction is a significant stressor for Autistic people (12) and is often a persistent, core part of their disability.  Therefore, ongoing support that helps with setting appointments, navigating paperwork, or following admissions or on-boarding processes is necessary.

On-the-job support for Autistic Employees

On-the-job support helps improve outcomes by supporting Autistic people with training, education, and job placement (12, 15).

Supported employment encourages social integration, faster placement in compatible positions, and longer retention rates (41).  Resources like Employee Resource Groups can streamline inclusion efforts (6). But, supported employment for Autistic adults must also include long-term support and protections against social stigmas (7), mobbing (8), and other forms of ableism (9).  

Other essential elements to on-the-job support include:

• Accommodations for Autistic-specific needs (23)

• Career/skill development support

• Mentorship

• Living wages, even for part-time work

• Assistance with executive function heavy tasks

• Awareness and accommodation of co-occurring disabilities

• Ongoing awareness and communication training for management 

• Easing disclosure, and other self-advocacy, burdens (7, 17)

Off-hours Support for Autistic Adults

One factor that is less discussed, but will significantly improve autism employment statistics, is a system of support outside of the workplace. Family support was another major predictor for Autistic employment success (5).  This is likely because family support helps with navigating financial hardships, employment gaps, and the executive functioning needed to find a job. 

At-home support also improves work outcomes after a job has been found (12).  This likely helps with executive dysfunction and eases the pressure of complete independent living.  Executive dysfunction issues impact more than just work life and one’s ability to navigate their homelife will protect their job performance over time (12).

Traditional aspects of off-hours support, such as access to medical and psychiatric care, are important because these costs are much higher for Autistic populations (24).  Autistic masking and burnout are major factors for these increased health complications (21). Autistic adults have significantly reduced access to healthcare and other benefits due to the majority maintaining part-time hours and due to the drastically low wages among this group (11).

Other forms of off-hour support that can help reduce burnout and increase job retention include:

• Meal services

• Subscriptions to mindfulness apps

• Cleaning or laundry services

• Financial fluency and planning services

• Retirement plans

• Legal protections informed by Autistic employment statistics that protect against discrimination, underemployment, and wage suppression based on the presence of autism

• Specific interest social groups

• Benefits packages for part-time or freelance employees

Social Support for Autistic People

Social discrimination is such a huge hindrance to Autistic employment success.  Therefore, social support at home and at work are crucial to improving employment statistics for Autistic people (20).

It’s important that families, career counselors, employers, and the Autistic individual share the burdens of communication success.  Don’t rely on Autistic people alone to make communication work (23).

Social supports can take many forms, including the following:

• Neurodivergence-informed career counselors and academic advisors

• Workplace, educational, and vocational advocates that support Autistic people in navigating nuanced social situations: conflicts, negotiations, disclosures, social expectations and hierarchies.

• Ongoing help with social issues related to career development: resumes, cover letters, interviews, and knowing when to apply.

• Hiring more than one Autistic person 

• Including Autistic people in management positions

• Creating awareness and acceptance around Autistic communication and work styles

• Creating events, exercises, and spaces that are inclusive and Autistic friendly

• Extend Autistic accommodations (i.e. soft skill training, decompression environments, etc) to non-Autistic employees when possible

• Actively look for ways to reduce marginalization of Autistic people

• Educate non-Autistic people about autism, disabilities, ableism, discrimination, social bias, and more

• Include Autistic perspectives in your decision making about autism and Autistic people

• Be aware of and proactive in responding to discrimination: low wages, lack of advancement, mobbing, bullying, isolation, etc.

All of the data clearly shows that these social issues are working against every Autistic person regardless of the time or space they exist in.  Non-autistic people are not forced to navigate these issues.  The different areas of social friction outlined here prevent Autistic people from keeping employment no matter how skilled or hardworking they are.  The burden to navigate these has fallen solely on Autistic shoulders, contributing to stress and hidden workloads that go unrecognized and unrewarded.

Conclusion

Autistic people deserve support without suffering penalties like marginalization, lower wages, or underemployment.

Autistic careers are significantly stunted over lifetimes due to autism specific discrimination that denies Autistic people access to support, acceptance, and inclusion.  It is an undue burden on Autistic people to bear full responsibility in overcoming obstacles to stable employment.

While baseline employment rates have improved slightly over the last 7 decades, other conditions, such as wages and hours/week have not.  All three aspects of employment remain behind other disabled groups, including those with learning disabilities, intellectual impairments, and speech difficulties.

Autistic people understanding their own needs was crucial to participation in the workforce.  However, participation isn’t the same as success, and research indicates that success is hindered by factors outside of an Autistic individual's control.

For example, inclusive, supported employment benefits the economy, but the low average hours worked per week create a disincentive for employers from hiring and investing in Autistic employees. Rather, an employee’s preference for part-time work, especially resulting from a disability, is viewed as unreliable by employers. (29)

Mutual support creates the best environment.  Autistic people should not bear the entire burden of career management, social success, and self-advocacy while also navigating a disability that directly impacts those specific areas.  An environment that supports Autistic strengths while protecting against systemic discrimination makes collaboration possible.

Wage protection is desperately needed.  There is abundant, clear evidence that there’s a form of wage discrimination specific to autistic people.  Needing support shouldn’t result in below-poverty wages.  That’s not competitive employment by any definition. 

Lastly, autism employment statistics show that Autistic people are being robbed of the quality of their lives.  Quality of life is improved by social integration, financial stability, access to healthcare and retirement plans, and meaningful stimulation. All of the data demonstrates clearly that autistic people, specifically, are being denied access to every one of those factors.

About me:

I’m a writer, artist, and advocate who loves living in Maine among the trees and oceanside villages.  I’m also autistic, ADHD, and PTSD.  My education, both academic and personal, has centered around mental health and neurodevelopmental disabilities, as well as discrimination and the socioeconomic consequences of living disabled in America. 

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