Davies, Jade;
Melinek, Rachel;
Livesey, Adam;
Killick, Estelle;
Sam, Evelyn;
Romualdez, Anna Melissa;
Pellicano, Elizabeth;
(2024)
“I did what I could to earn some money and be of use”: A
qualitative exploration of autistic people’s journeys to career
success and fulfilment.
Autism
(In press).
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Abstract
Employment contributes to wellbeing, yet many autistic people who want to work face barriers to meaningful employment. Much research focuses solely on employment rates, rather than taking a more holistic view of professional trajectories and occupational experiences. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 autistic adults to explore their experiences of, and perspectives on, career success. Our participants highlighted the overarching importance of finding fulfilment in one's career. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we identified five additional key themes: (1) volatile career journeys, (2) the need for continuing career support, (3) the impact (positive or negative) of social interactions, (4) the important role of organisations, and (5) the catastrophic impact of poor experiences. Our findings highlight the importance of tailored, lifelong employment support and inclusive workplaces in enabling autistic people to thrive at work. Enabling autistic career fulfilment requires moving beyond entry-level hiring to foster sustainable, fulfilling employment for all autistic people.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | “I did what I could to earn some money and be of use”: A qualitative exploration of autistic people’s journeys to career success and fulfilment |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Publisher version: | https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/journal/autism |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Psychology and Human Development |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10198728 |
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