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Individual Placement and Support for People with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Pilot Program

Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research volume 44, pages 365–373 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience significant rates of unemployment and underemployment, and the field needs an inexpensive, evidence-based vocational intervention. We examined an approach developed for people with serious mental illness, IPS supported employment, for young adults with ASD. We described a pilot IPS program for young adults with ASD and evaluated the first five participants over 1 year. The first five IPS participants succeeded in competitive employment, expanded independence, and achieved broad psychosocial gains. IPS could help young adults with ASD succeed in competitive employment at a relatively low cost.

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Acknowledgements

Funding was provided by Private Foundation Support (Grant No. ID0EICAG1643).

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Autism Spectrum Disorders Program, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, 1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH, 03756, USA

    Jennifer McLaren

  2. Pediatric Neuropsychology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, 1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH, 03756, USA

    Jonathan D. Lichtenstein

  3. Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, 1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH, 03756, USA

    Daniel Lynch

  4. The IPS Employment Center at the Rockville Institute, Westat, 3rd Floor, Evergreen 2, 21 Lafayette, Centerra Business Park, Lebanon, NH, 03766, USA

    Deborah Becker & Robert Drake

Authors
  1. Jennifer McLaren
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  2. Jonathan D. Lichtenstein
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  3. Daniel Lynch
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  4. Deborah Becker
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  5. Robert Drake
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer McLaren.

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There are no conflicts of interest to report.

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It was obtained from all individual participants included in this report.

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McLaren, J., Lichtenstein, J.D., Lynch, D. et al. Individual Placement and Support for People with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Pilot Program. Adm Policy Ment Health 44, 365–373 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-017-0792-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-017-0792-3

Keywords

  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Supported employment
  • Individual placement and support