abstract: 'Purpose

  The purpose of this study was to explore the views of autistic people,

  carers and practitioners regarding the barriers autistic employees face

  at work (Study 1) and to use these views to inform the design of an

  employment programme for autistic employees without learning

  disabilities (Study 2).

  Design/methodology/approach

  In Study 1, 16 (20\%) carers, 17 (21\%) practitioners and 47 (59\%)

  autistic adults who had been or were currently employed, answered a

  survey regarding barriers at work. Study 2 evaluates the efficacy of a

  set of profiling assessment tools (PA) developed to help employers make

  individually-tailored adjustments for their autistic employees by

  delivering an employment programme consisting of 15, 8-week work

  placements.

  Findings

  In Study 1, only 25\% of autistic adults reported having had adjustments

  in the workplace and all groups reported this as the main barrier -

  alongside employers'' lack of understanding. Two sets of results

  demonstrate the efficacy of the PA tools in addressing this barrier.

  First, a comparative cost simulation revealed a cost-saving in terms of

  on-job support of 6.67 pound per participant per hour worked relative to

  published data from another programme. Second, 83\% of autistic

  employees reported having had the right adjustments at work.

  Research limitations/implications

  This is an exploratory study that did not include a comparison group.

  Hence, it was not possible to evaluate the efficacy of the PA tools

  relative to a standard employment programme intervention, nor to assess

  cost reduction, which currently is only estimated from already available

  published data.

  Practical implications

  Overall the findings from these studies demonstrate that the time

  invested in the high-quality assessment of the profile of autistic

  employees results in saving costs over time and better outcomes.

  Originality/value

  The originality of the Autism Centre for Employment programme resides in

  that, unlike other programmes, it shifts the focus from helping autistic

  employees to helping their employers.'
affiliation: 'Lopez, B (Corresponding Author), Univ Portsmouth, Dept Psychol, Portsmouth,
  Hants, England.

  Lopez, Beatriz; Udell, Julie; Rubin, Tomas, Univ Portsmouth, Dept Psychol, Portsmouth,
  Hants, England.

  Kargas, Niko, Univ Lincoln, Dept Psychol, Lincoln, England.

  Burgess, Linda, Hampshire Cty Council, Winchester, Hants, England.

  Dew, Dominic, Portsmouth City Council, Portsmouth, Hants, England.

  McDonald, Ian, Southampton City Council, Southampton, Hants, England.

  O''Brien, Ann, Isle Of Wight Council, Newport, England.

  Templeton-Mepstead, Karen, Autism Hampshire, Fareham, England.'
author: Lopez, Beatriz and Kargas, Niko and Udell, Julie and Rubin, Tomas and Burgess,
  Linda and Dew, Dominic and McDonald, Ian and O'Brien, Ann and Templeton-Mepstead,
  Karen
author-email: beatriz.lopez@port.ac.uk
author_list:
- family: Lopez
  given: Beatriz
- family: Kargas
  given: Niko
- family: Udell
  given: Julie
- family: Rubin
  given: Tomas
- family: Burgess
  given: Linda
- family: Dew
  given: Dominic
- family: McDonald
  given: Ian
- family: O'Brien
  given: Ann
- family: Templeton-Mepstead
  given: Karen
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1108/AIA-11-2019-0038
earlyaccessdate: APR 2021
files: []
issn: 2056-3868
journal: ADVANCES IN AUTISM
keywords: 'Autism; Interventions; Assessment; Autism spectrum disorder; Autism

  spectrum condition; Behavioural phenotypes'
language: English
month: MAY 12
number: 1, SI
number-of-cited-references: '54'
orcid-numbers: 'Udell, Julie/0000-0003-0427-9216

  Lopez, Beatriz/0000-0001-5621-6044'
pages: 3-15
papis_id: 2bdf4c6f8719c22749fc4cd2f76d1721
ref: Lopez2021evaluationace
times-cited: '1'
title: 'Evaluation of the ACE employment programme: helping employers to make tailored
  adjustments for their autistic employees'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000638999000001
usage-count-last-180-days: '3'
usage-count-since-2013: '7'
volume: '7'
web-of-science-categories: Psychology, Developmental
year: '2021'