abstract: 'Community brief Why is this an important issue?Employment is important

  for income, quality of life, and the ability to get the supports or

  services a person needs. Autistic adults are more likely to be

  unemployed or underemployed when compared with neurotypical adults and

  people with other disabilities. There are many environmental barriers to

  participating in adult activities in the community, but issues with

  transportation are a primary barrier. In previous research, a high

  number of autistic adults (72\%) reported that they had missed some of

  their desired activities due to lack of transportation. It is important

  to understand the relationship between transportation and employment to

  know how to overcome barriers and improve employment options for

  autistic adults who want to work. What was the purpose of this

  research?The purpose of this research was to look at transportation and

  employment status (i.e., employed or unemployed). Specifically, this

  study compared types of transportation used and perceived barriers to

  transportation between autistic adults who were employed and those who

  were unemployed. What did the researchers do?Information was collected

  from 1120 autistic adults through a large statewide survey, which

  included questions about employment and transportation. Information from

  autistic adults who were employed and those who were not employed was

  compared. What were the results of the study?Results of this comparison

  showed that participants who were employed were more likely to drive

  themselves and less likely to take rides from other people or to use

  service transportation. Those who were employed also reported fewer

  barriers to public transportation. Barriers such as crime, planning a

  trip, treatment by fellow passengers, cost, knowledge on how to use

  public transportation, and sensory overload were identified by more

  people who were unemployed than by people who were employed. How will

  these findings help autistic adults now or in the future?The study

  identified specific barriers to transportation for autistic adults who

  are unemployed. This information can help to guide supports and policies

  to reduce barriers for travel needed for employment. In addition,

  results of this study can help guide future research to develop or

  identify the transportation skills needed for travel to work for

  autistic adults.

  Background: Autistic adults are significantly unemployed or

  underemployed even compared with other disability groups. Employment is

  a social determinant that, when satisfied, closely influences

  health-related quality of life. For autistic adults, environmental

  barriers to transportation can impact the ability to get to employment

  resulting in limited employment opportunities. This study provides a

  closer examination of the association between transportation use and

  employment status.Objective: To examine the use of different types of

  transportation and barriers to public transit by employed and unemployed

  autistic adults.Method: The data were from a large statewide study

  conducted between May 2017 and June 2018 using the Pennsylvania Autism

  Needs Assessment (PANA), in which information about employment and

  transportation use was obtained from autistic adults who were residents

  of Pennsylvania. The study sample included 1120 autistic adults (M-age =

  28.03 years, standard deviation = 9.84; 70\% men; 82\% non-Hispanic

  White).Results: Participants who were employed were more likely to drive

  themselves than those who were unemployed (45\% vs. 21\%, p < 0.001),

  while they were less likely to take rides from others (62\% vs. 75\%, p

  < 0.001) or use service transportation (11\% vs. 18\%, p = 0.001). For

  barriers to public transit, the results identified that employed

  participants reported fewer barriers to public transportation than

  unemployed participants with a small effect size (1.98 vs. 2.54, d =

  0.22).Conclusion: Employed autistic adults exercise more transportation

  independence. Unemployed autistic adults report more barriers to

  participation and lower ability to independently use public

  transportation. Future transportation and employment studies are

  necessary.'
affiliation: 'Pfeiffer, B (Corresponding Author), Temple Univ, Coll Publ Hlth, Hlth
  \& Rehabil Sci, 1913 North Broad St,Mitten Hall,Suite 201, Philadelphia, PA 19122
  USA.

  Pfeiffer, Beth; Davidson, Amber, Temple Univ, Coll Publ Hlth, Hlth \& Rehabil Sci,
  Philadelphia, PA USA.

  Song, Wei; Shea, Lindsey, Drexel Univ, AJ Drexel Autism Inst, Philadelphia, PA USA.

  Salzer, Mark, Temple Univ, Coll Publ Hlth, Social \& Behav Sci, Philadelphia, PA
  USA.

  Feeley, Cecilia, Rutgers State Univ, Ctr Adv Infrastruct \& Res, New Brunswick,
  NJ USA.

  Pfeiffer, Beth, Temple Univ, Coll Publ Hlth, Hlth \& Rehabil Sci, 1913 North Broad
  St,Mitten Hall,Suite 201, Philadelphia, PA 19122 USA.'
author: Pfeiffer, Beth and Song, Wei and Davidson, Amber and Salzer, Mark and Feeley,
  Cecilia and Shea, Lindsey
author-email: bpfeiffe@temple.edu
author_list:
- family: Pfeiffer
  given: Beth
- family: Song
  given: Wei
- family: Davidson
  given: Amber
- family: Salzer
  given: Mark
- family: Feeley
  given: Cecilia
- family: Shea
  given: Lindsey
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1089/aut.2022.0069
earlyaccessdate: AUG 2023
eissn: 2573-959X
files: []
issn: 2573-9581
journal: AUTISM IN ADULTHOOD
keywords: autistic adults; autism; employment; transportation
keywords-plus: TRANSIT SERVICES; SPECTRUM; HEALTH; IMPACT; TRAVEL
language: English
month: 2023 AUG 4
number-of-cited-references: '28'
papis_id: cfcf405eb673ee420dc45ecd95bd8a4b
ref: Pfeiffer2023transportationuse
times-cited: '0'
title: Transportation Use and Barriers for Employed and Unemployed Autistic Adults
type: article
unique-id: WOS:001040414700001
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '1'
web-of-science-categories: Psychology, Developmental; Rehabilitation
year: '2023'