abstract: 'Purpose

  To determine the most appropriate and effective support to enable

  autistic people to gain and maintain employment in their chosen field.

  This paper aims to determine this and by which methods are most suitable

  for this kind of support, with a focus on mentoring.

  Design/methodology/approach

  Mentoring is an intervention that has shown promise in assisting people

  who encounter barriers in finding work (for example, Roycroft, 2014).

  This research was conducted to determine whether the mentoring of

  autistic adults is effective in helping them to gain and maintain

  employment. The study examined the mentoring records of 90 autistic

  adults who were in receipt of funded mentoring with 18 separate

  organisations across England.

  Findings

  The authors found that the nationally recognised statistic of autistic

  people in full-time employment as 16\% (National Autistic Society, 2016)

  was ambitious and subject to regional variation. Based on the results of

  a programme providing employment and mentoring support that is available

  and accessible to autistic people, however, outcomes improve and

  employment is more likely to be achieved and maintained - including in

  areas of, especially low employment. It was found that 48\% of autistic

  job seekers who were supported by specialist mentors found paid

  employment (full-time or part-time), demonstrating a 16\% increase in

  paid employment between those who received mentoring support and those

  who did not.

  Research limitations/implications

  A wider study across the UK would first determine if the nationally

  recognised figure is incorrect and also highlight those areas of the

  country which perform particularly well or badly.

  Originality/value

  This paper believes that this is the only research of it is kind in the

  UK and that it is a springboard for others who have greater resources

  available to them. This study is two very early-career academics on the

  autism spectrum with limited resources available to us.'
affiliation: 'Cameron, C (Corresponding Author), Matthews Hub, Kingston Upon Hull,
  N Humberside, England.

  Cameron, Carl; Townend, Abbey, Matthews Hub, Kingston Upon Hull, N Humberside, England.'
author: Cameron, Carl and Townend, Abbey
author-email: carl@matthewshub.org
author_list:
- family: Cameron
  given: Carl
- family: Townend
  given: Abbey
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1108/AIA-08-2020-0046
earlyaccessdate: FEB 2021
files: []
issn: 2056-3868
journal: ADVANCES IN AUTISM
keywords: Employment
language: English
month: MAY 12
number: 1, SI
number-of-cited-references: '36'
pages: 41-48
papis_id: a5277eb5e59ec83f79d14aa2691cf1cc
ref: Cameron2021howmight
times-cited: '2'
title: How might we best support the effective and meaningful employment of autistic
  people and improve outcomes?
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000616990400001
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '3'
volume: '7'
web-of-science-categories: Psychology, Developmental
year: '2021'