Tracking the long-term outcomes of a supported employment internship programme for autistic adults without a learning disability

Supported employment initiatives with work experience (e.g. internships) can increase employment rates for autistic people. However, such initiatives (a) are often not evidence-based, (b) focus on quantitative outcomes such as employment rates and (c) examine group-level changes without considering individual variability. Considering the effects that (un)employment can have on autistic people's well-being, it is important to examine the wider impact of supported employment initiatives. This study evaluated the long-term employment and wider outcomes of autistic adults who engaged with a supported employment internship initiative at group and individual levels. Autistic adults without a learning disability ( N = 27, ‘interns’; M age = 23.3) involved in internships across seven organisations, participated in the study. Interns reported on (a) employment-related characteristics, (b) daily living skills, (c) general self-efficacy, (d) quality of life and (e) mental health pre-internship at six and 12–24 months post-internship. The overall employment rate increased from 25.93% to 55.56% from pre- to 12–24 months post-internship, and income and number of hours worked also increased. There were improvements in daily living skills, but other wider outcome measures did not change significantly at a group level, despite individual variability. This evidence has important implications for supporting long-term outcomes for autistic people.