Enhancing Resilience in Autistic Adults Using Community-based Participatory Research

By Dr John Mendy, PhD, MCIPD, FHEA

‘Enhancing resilience in autistic adults using community-based participatory research: A novel HRD-intervention in employment service provision’ by Farkas, Mendy and Kargas (2020) uses a practice-based method highlighting how the impact of our intervention led to changes in autistic jobseekers positivity and confidence in not only actively looking for but also gaining and retaining employment.

The study engages the autistic community in the research process in order to develop needs-led services and practices in a manner that impacts on, benefits and meaningfully reshapes the interactions between employment service providers and users. It uses Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) as an approach that helps understand the views of marginalised stakeholders and low-resource communities such as autistic adults as they transition into work. In fact, CBPR appears to be a useful approach to engage autistic communities who comprise 1% of the world’s population and who have been left out not only of research processes but also employment service provisions and interventions. Such omissions have had devastating financial, mental and emotional costs to organizations and countries in both developing and developed economies worldwide.

The CBPR approach was adopted primarily based on its neglect in the employment service provision for autistic adults. As part of the study’s aims the authors investigated whether CBPR could firstly help increase resilience in autistic jobseekers by co-developing a purposeful peer support group at a DWP Jobcentre Plus. Secondly, we demonstrate how CBPR can be implemented as a method to enhance engagement and resilience in autistic adults, with an age range of 18 – 46 years, seeking employment. To do so, a sample of 26 high functioning autistic adults formed an Autism Work Peer Support Group (AWPSG) to help generate and share thoughts, opinions and concerns about finding work as autistic adults. 90% of our participants had secondary education up to A-levels and 10% with HND or above and had a diverse employment history in various sectors ranging from customer service to catering and administration. Each of them has been actively seeking employment between 1 to 10 years. Also included within the sample were two Disability Employment Advisors (one male and one female), who were known to the autistic jobseekers.  

We used a 13-item questionnaire to evaluate how the CBPR approach was implemented by asking questions ranging from their reception of the AWPSG measures in accommodating their needs to how they perceived changes in employment and to their social networks. It was found firstly that the peer support sessions’ structure and format accommodated their needs and requirements and that it promoted active participation. Secondly and crucially, it was found that participation in the AWPSG had a positive impact on the jobseekers’ self-esteem, social connections, employability skills and confidence in not only finding but also in sustaining employment.

These findings combine to support the efficacy of the AWPSG programme and provide a successful framework for delivering employment-focused peer support interventions to this population. The findings therefore ascertain that autistic adults’ social adaptation is key for their resilience capacity development and the promotion of their employability. Sharing experiences and learning from one another about potential ways to overcome employment and autism-related challenges are crucial processes in enhancing resilience among autistic adults.

Therefore, research into employment policies, practices and interventions, which are aimed at supporting people with ASCs and helping to minimize the health, financial and emotional distresses and costs to families, individuals and countries should take account and actively involve them in the full research from design, implementation to dissemination of findings. In other words, facilitating autistic adults’ self-fulfilment should focus on involving its key stakeholders in order to enhance a more resilient, more productive and healthier community of autistic jobseekers.

Article details

Enhancing Resilience in Autistic Adults Using Community-based Participatory Research: A Novel HRD Intervention in Employment Service Provision
Tibor N. Farkas, John Mendy, Niko Kargas
First Published August 27, 2020 Research Article
DOI: 10.1177/1523422320946293
Advances in Developing Human Resources

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