Improving Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Accessibility for Autistic Postsecondary Students
Background
Employment rates for autistic individuals are significantly worse than those of the general population and even compared to individuals with other disabilities (Roux et al., 2017; Zwicker et al., 2017). Yet, increasing employment opportunities for autistic adults is beneficial both from societal and economic standpoints, and employment services for this group can reduce government and societal costs (Jacob et al., 2015). Despite being eager to work, Autistic Canadians experience significant barriers to obtaining and retaining meaningful employment. At the same time, autistic people bring strengths to the workplace, such as superior creativity, focus, memory, efficiency, honesty, and dedication.
Our Approach
Recent theoretical frameworks of employment and autism have moved away from traditional deficit models toward an ecosystem framework that emphasizes the interaction of the individual and environment (Klag, Nicholas & Métayer, 2021). In this approach, the focus shifts from targeting “deficits” toward improving the fit between the autistic individual and the workplace. Instead of simply intervening in autistic behaviour or employer behaviour, this approach moves toward double empathy (Milton, 2012) by generating holistic ideas for success, integrating the opinions of all those involved in the employment ecosystem.
Work-Integrated Learning Context
Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) is “a form of curricular experiential education that formally integrates a student’s academic studies with quality experiences within a workplace or practice setting. WIL experiences include an engaged partnership of at least: an academic institution, a host organization, and a student. WIL can occur at the course or program level and includes the development of student learning objectives and outcomes related to: employability, agency, knowledge and skill mobility and life-long learning” (see https://www.cewilcanada.ca/CEWIL/CEWIL/About-Us/Work-Integrated-Learning.aspx?hkey=ed772be2-00d0-46cd-a5b8-873000a18b41).
Existing data suggests that the participation rates of students with disabilities in WIL experiences is low (see Gatto et al., 2021a), and are reduced further by the presence of a mental health condition and by the perception that employers will not support their disability. This low participation in WIL may be a reflection of the paucity of disability-focused supports within WIL programs at postsecondary institutions in Canada (Gatto et al., 2021b)
Project Objectives
The overarching goal of our project is to research and develop evidence-based online resources to support each stakeholder group within the ecosystem of WIL: the students, WIL practitioners, and employers. This is a first step towards a longer-term goal of creating more integrated and tailored supports in an effort to increase autistic student recruitment and improve employers’ experiences with these students.
Objective 1. Identify the unique gaps and needs among autistic postsecondary students, WIL practitioners, and employers in supporting autistic postsecondary students in WIL programs.
Objective 2. Develop freely available (beta versions) online resources for autistic students, WIL practitioners, and employers on evidence-based information (based on (1)) pertaining to successfully including and supporting autistic individuals in WIL and making the WIL a success for both student and employer.
Objective 3. Explore satisfaction among autistic students, WIL practitioners, and employers with the resources developed in (2); changes in job readiness in autistic students; and changes in autism knowledge and stigma among WIL practitioners and employers, from pre- to post-engagement with the online resources.
Accessibility and Impact
The resources developed from this project will ultimately be freely available to all. We plan to create three online toolkits geared towards the three identified stakeholders of the proposed WIL ecosystem: WIL practitioners, autistic students, and employers. Our expectation is that these online resources, after being evaluated and revised (after Objective 3) will be available province-wide through ACE-WIL BC’s website (which has members from 25 postsecondary institutions in BC).
Supported by the Laurel Foundation, this initiative represents one of the very few Canadian projects dedicated to improving WIL accessibility and employment pathways for autistic postsecondary students.