What happens when someone has the ambition and skills to work, but workplaces aren’t designed with their needs in mind?
Our recent survey data shows young autistic adults are graduating with degrees, finding jobs they’re excited about, and then discovering the hardest part isn’t doing the work. It’s managing commonly co-occurring conditions, navigating workplace expectations, and receiving accommodations. Many respondents also said they didn’t feel they had opportunities to advance into higher-paying roles.
These and other barriers are standing in the way of young autistic adults’ ability to build careers they can sustain long-term.
The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way. Our findings point to practical opportunities for employers, employment programmers, and policymakers to create workplaces where young autistic adults can thrive.
Seeing the big picture
Survey data shows jobs are available, but they’re not the sustainable, meaningful job opportunities many autistic young adults need.
Most survey participants aren’t struggling to find work. They’re looking for the support they need to maintain employment while managing complex health needs, accommodations, social stress with peers, and other barriers.
Facing discrimination and bias from employers and peers was also a common barrier affecting career growth and social exclusion in the workplace, our findings show. Factors like systemic and intergenerational poverty only make it harder for some autistic adults to thrive.
This suggests that employment initiatives focused solely on job placement may miss many of the barriers autistic young adults actually experience.
Many employment programs focus on improving autistic people’s skills, confidence, or employability, but many participants pointed to workplace accommodations, understanding managers, and autism-specific training as the support they need most.
We see an opportunity here to look beyond employability and focus on creating workplaces where autistic young adults can thrive. That means creating accessibility, understanding, and meaningful accommodations as part of the workplace rather than expecting individuals to navigate it alone.
Connecting career success to well-being and sustainability
Employment isn’t just about economics for autistic young adults. It’s about healthcare, housing, and financial stability.
The top barrier autistic young adults said they face getting higher-paying jobs was mental and physical health challenges, showing the deep interconnectivity between health and employment. This suggests employment outcomes and initiatives for them can’t be separated from conversations about access to culturally appropriate and safe healthcare, mental and physical disability support, and burnout prevention.
That said, many participants are also under major financial pressures. Although the survey focused on employment, many comments point to broader economic hardships, like needing to live with family to be able to afford food and rent. In addition to low disability payments, the regional cost of living has a profound impact, especially for autistic adults living in large cities or rural areas.
Creating more opportunities for meaningful and sustainable work
Many young autistic adults may be underemployed rather than fully excluded from the workplace, our findings show:
One-third of participants worked part-time, making it the largest employment category reflected in the survey. Twenty per cent of autistic young adults were unemployed and looking for work at the time of the survey, and 23 per cent were unable to work.
Many of them mentioned wanting more hours so they could cover basic living expenses and become more independent, but they were unable to get them. This is an important distinction because traditional employment statistics often overlook underemployment as a major factor affecting vulnerable people at work.
Exploring the possibilities of self-employment and autonomy
Together, roughly 0 per cent of survey respondents expressed at least some openness to self-employment, suggesting entrepreneurial programs, micro-business supports, and self-employment training may be underexplored opportunities for autistic young adults.
When we asked autistic adults why they would want to run their own business, many of them said it would give them more autonomy and agency. More freedom could mean more burnout prevention and a chance to achieve their goals in a way that feels good for them.
Some of the top reasons they were interested in self-employment include:
- Flexible scheduling: Picking our own hours based on our own capacities
- Working in accommodating environments: Staying home or choosing where we want to work each day based on how we’re doing, what we need/want to do, and what’s happening in our living and working spaces
- Surrounding ourselves with supportive people: Avoiding workplace drama, bullying, exploitation, and other forms of discrimination and exclusion at work and opting to only spend time with trusted loved ones who we can mask around less
- More financial security and control: Determining fair wages for ourselves and our employees
- Spending time on special interests, hobbies, and passions: Doing what we love so we can love what we do
When traditional workplaces don’t offer the flexibility and autonomy they need, some autistic people see self-employment as an opportunity to create a working life that fits their strengths, needs, and values.
One respondent described self-employment as a potential dream come true. They just lack the support they need to make it happen.
“Being able to find something I can do myself and have complete control over would be magical,” they said. “It would mean there is no added social stress or judgement from others. My only problem is that I do not know what I am good at to have a self-employed job.”
Free and low-cost guidance from autistic entrepreneurs is one potential solution for this respondent, and others like them who are interested in exploring self-employment as a career path.
Others envision self-employment as an opportunity to give back to their communities.
” I would like to be self-employed because then I can create the culture and team I desire and try to make the world a better place by sharing my ethics and values,” they said.
Regardless of their reasons, the fact that only 30 per cent of respondents weren’t interested in self-employment is shocking, showing just how many young autistic people could be entrepreneurs if given appropriate support.
Turning education into steady employment
While most degree holders among survey participants were 24-35, they were also the age bracket experiencing the most unemployment.
The fact that so many educated participants weren’t able to get jobs suggests autistic graduates could benefit from receiving more transitional support.
Further research is required to determine why this demographic is facing such disproportionately high barriers to accessible, stable, and sustainable employment opportunities.
Creating pathways for economic independence
Participants describe being caught between needing disability support, wanting to work more, fearing losing benefits, and not earning enough to live independently. Struggling to navigate access to disability benefits, earnings clawbacks, income eligibility restrictions, and the inability to afford rent or food all contribute to this frustrating situation for autistic young adults, who say they would benefit from fewer restrictions and higher payments. This aligns with our findings from last year’s study, which showed autistic adults are disproportionately impacted by poverty in BC and established possible paths forward.
Transforming insight into action
Want to help autistic young adults achieve their career goals? These steps can help get you started:
- Provide meaningful, appropriate accommodations with enthusiasm and respect
- Get workplace training for non-autistic managers and coworkers
- Consider the importance of healthcare and mental health support for autistic employees, employers, and other support staff
Building accessible workplaces benefits everyone. To get in touch about training opportunities for your workplace, please contact us.
