Brief Report: A Job-Based Social Skills Program (JOBSS) for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Michelle Gorenstein, Ivy Giserman-Kiss, Elyana Feldman, Emily L. Isenstein, Lauren Donnelly, A. Ting Wang, Jennifer H. Foss-Feig

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have low employment rates; even those who are employed have low wages and limited hours. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Job-Based Social Skills (JOBSS) curriculum, a manualized, 15-week, group-delivered intervention for adults with ASD. The intervention aimed to increase social-pragmatic skills necessary to obtain and maintain employment. Twenty-two adults were randomly assigned to either JOBSS intervention or wait-list control groups. Results showed significant improvement in social cognition, as reported by caregivers, among JOBSS group participants compared to wait-list control participants. Forty-five percent of intervention participants gained employment in the six months following participation. This curriculum has potential to improve social skills of adults with ASD, thereby increasing successful employment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4527-4534
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Volume50
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2020

Keywords

  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Employment
  • Intervention
  • Social skills
  • Transition to adulthood

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