What is the situation of people with autism spectrum disorder in the Italian labour market? What challenges are associated with autism in workplace? And what do employers need to know to support their employees with autism? We discussed these topics with psychologists, social workers, employers and other stakeholders during the Opportunities4autism research.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental condition, typically effecting person’s communication and interaction with other people and the environment. It is defined as a spectrum, because the expression and the severity of symptoms may vary significantly among individuals.
Many autistic people are able to work and have the skills to excel in their job, however, most adults with ASD are unemployed or underemployed. In Italy, only about 10% of people with ASD are employed and when it comes to the employers’ understanding of autism, there is still large room for improvement.
What do employers need to know?
Challenges in the work environment
Starting a new job is somehow stressful for everyone. Nevertheless, people affected by ASD may be facing some additional challenges connected to the symptoms of their condition.
The difficulties with social communication and interaction are often the most visible barrier to the workplace integration. People with autism may be disturbed by close proximity to other workers, and stressed by the expectation to socialise. On this account, the awareness raising among the team members and managers seems necessary to ensure that the needs of the employee with ASD are understood and respected.
Some individuals may have also difficulties expressing themselves verbally and understanding the others. Literal thinking and misinterpreting non-verbal language also hinder mutual understanding. To facilitate communication with the employee with ASD, clear, concrete and complete language should be preferred, avoiding double senses, irony, metaphors or unnecessary gestures. A tutor acting as an intermediary between the autistic person and their collaborators can support strongly the communication and promote the appreciation of diversity in the workplace.
Other challenges may be caused by sensory hypersensitivity. Noise, smells and visual stimuli of the workplace may be very disturbing and, in some cases, may lead to anxiety or even nervous meltdown.
Employers can help by providing the employee with headphones, table lamps instead of sharp central lighting or, where possible, a private office to minimise the stimuli. Employers can also create a calm safe space where the employee can spend their breaks or where they can find a shelter when feeling overwhelmed.
The inflexibility of thought can also cause some troubles to employees with ASD when facing the changes in workday structure, unexpected tasks, or variations in work priorities. A person with autism may have difficulties switching their attention from one task to another upon request, feeling stressed and anxious.
To help coping with the employee’s stress, the employer should provide as much flexibility and autonomy in work planning as possible.
Benefits of employing individuals with ASD
And what are the benefits of employing a person with autism spectrum disorder? Well, mostly the same as of getting on board any competent and loyal individual.
Autistic people have many skills to offer and have talents in various areas from art, music, crafts, mathematics, information technologies to gardening or pizza making. Typical strengths may include strong memory, adherence to rules and attention to detail, or the capacity to carry out repetitive tasks with great precision.
Furthermore, the whole work team can benefit from major neurodiversity by learning from differences, exploring new viewpoints and evolving towards more open and inclusive community.
To be able to appreciate the employee’s strengths and not to miss out on a great talent, employers need to gain better understanding of the condition, learn to recognise its symptoms and respect the individual differences.
Employment support for individuals ASD
Regrettably, there are only limited services for both for employers and adults with ASD. In fact, it’s mostly the families that provide for their autistic members when it comes to challenges in adulthood and searching for an occupation.
A case apart are specialised centres operating at universities guaranteeing equal opportunities for students with disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, and/or learning disabilities, and supporting them during the studies as well as the transition from education to work. An outstanding example of a comprehensive support system is the CInAP – Centre for active and participative integration at University of Catania, where a multidisciplinary team composed of psychologists, social workers, and educators provides the students with numerous services including employment support, job placement, and job matching. For students with ASD, CInAP offers a tutoring programme and design personalized interventions targeted at promoting the student’s well-being and enhancing their autonomy.
Centres like CINAP, social cooperatives, associations, and groups of parents of children with autism such as Comitato Autismo Parla or Dopo di noi advocate constantly for the rights of people with ASD and make the best effort to raise the public awareness of autism. However, the general awareness of autism spectrum condition among Italian employers, HR managers and recruiters is still low and many don’t know what to expect from autistic job candidates or employees, and how to approach them.
Opportunities4autism: the project progress
The Opportunities4autism team strives for enhancing the understanding of ASD in the working world and making the workplaces more open to neurodiverse talents. In the period from February to March 2021, we conducted numerous interviews and focus groups with experts on autism, discussing the situation of people with ASD in the labour market. The viewpoints provided by our respondents served to explore the existing awareness of the topic and identify the training needs which will set up the basis of the Opportunities4autims Training Package designed to equipemployers with skills and competences in supporting individuals with autism during application, selection and workplace-integration process
Are you either a VET trainer, an employer, an HR manger, a recruiter or a professional working with adults with ASD, and wish to join the training? We’ll be happy to hear from you. For more information contact Cecilie La Monica Grus at cecilie.lamonica@cesie.org.
About the project
Opportunities4autism – A spectrum of opportunities: training field professionals on how to recruit and support individuals with autism at the workplace is a two-years project co-financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of European Union under KA2 KA202 – Strategic Partnerships for VET.
Partners
The project is carried out by 6 partners with long experience in supporting vulnerable groups:
- Szczecinska Szkola Wyzsza Collegium Balticum (Poland, coordinator)
- CESIE (Italy)
- FUNDACION INTRAS (Spain)
- Fondacija hiljadu zelja (Serbia)
- STANDO LTD (Cyprus)
- ASOCIACION MI HIJO Y YO, PSICOLOGASEN EL HOGAR PARA LAS FAMILIAS CONTGD (Spain)
For further information
Read more about Opportunities4autism and see the project website.
Contact Cecilie La Monica Grus: cecilie.lamonica@cesie.org.
