Key Element for Success in Adulthood: Soft Skills
“I taught him all the steps on the task analyses for a job to stock shelves, but when he encounters a problem, he gets completely off track.”
“Employers and coworkers use a lot of language to deliver instructions and are not aware that she learns best through demonstrations and will not speak up when she doesn’t understand something.”
“The education team is exclusively focusing on jobs he can do in isolation of others because he is perceived as rude and aggressive by those who do not understand him.”
During the school years, many accommodations may be made to provide an educational environment that supports success. Additionally, learners are surrounded by professionals who understand the behavioral tendencies that most often characterize individuals with ASD.
Research suggests that the greatest barriers to employment success are problems with social skills, including
- inability to read facial expressions
- rudeness during conversations
- lack of social initiations, and
- inability to communicate needs
See Chen et al., 2015 for review of literature.
Surrounding the Issue with Resources
The sources for this course are recent research publications. While this is the best source for the most current clinical applications pertaining to social integration of learners with ASD, it does exclude some other important sources. Below are a few subcategories of resources in addition to behavior analytic research journals. An example resource from each is provided. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list.
CURRICULUM
Assessment and curriculum for addressing adaptive skills – Functional Living Skills: Pathway to Independence developed by Partington and Mueller.
GOVERNMENT AGENCY RESOURCES
This one is from the U.S. Department of Labor – Soft Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success
ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS
For example, this Employment Toolkit from Autism Speaks
Select the Done button to advance