UCLA

Background: The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a formidable time for autistic young adults. Poor health outcomes, low employment rates, and unfavorable independent living outcomes for autistic adults (Cimera & Cowen, 2009) make essential that the transition from high school to the next step of life be as frictionless and supported as possible. Despite the importance of this research, only 3.5% of published research involving autism focuses on adults (Howlin & Magiati, 2017). Only 2% of autism funding in the U.S. is allocated towards adult research in autism (Shattuck et al., 2020). Given the sparse nature of adult autism research at the present time, an exploratory approach was taken to highlight the present climate of young autistic adults transitioning into adulthood, emphasizing their lived experiences through interview data. This study addresses the following research questions: 1. What are the barriers autistic individuals encounter in the transition to adult life? 2. What resources do autistic individuals find most helpful in navigating this transition? 3. What could families, organizations, employers, and educators do to support autistic adults transitioning into adulthood? 4. What strategies for success do participants recommend to autistic emerging youth to navigate the transition into adulthood? 5. What does success mean to autistic individuals in their own lives?Objective: Participants were recruited primarily through social media, and secondarily through an organization that specializes in facilitating careers in the arts for autistic individuals. Seventeen semi-structured interviews lasting between 30-60 minutes with autistic adults on the topic of transition into adulthood were conducted. This study aims to elevate autistic voices, further understand their experiences, and improve future outcomes for autistic transition-age youth through the lived experiences of the community. Methods: Seventeen participants were recruited through social media and personal networks. Prior to scheduling an interview, participants were sent a consent form for review and a demographic questionnaire to determine eligibility. Interviews were conducted over Zoom and recorded. An inductive coding process was utilized, deriving codes from recurrent topics in the transcripts and iteratively returning to transcripts to form themes. A systematic coding consensus approach, following the framework proposed by Willms and colleagues (1990), was then employed. Two coders coded the transcripts separately, and subsequent discussions were held to reach consensus on any discrepancies. This iterative process allowed coders to construct a robust coding system and achieve agreement between raters. The software Dedoose (Dedoose Version 9.0.23) was used to facilitate the analysis of the data. Results: Data analysis yielded several overarching themes: Educational/Vocational Experiences after graduation, Barriers to Success, What Worked to promote success in this life stage, and Recommendations to various people and institutions that could promote better outcomes in future generations of transition-aged youth. Each of the major themes contained subthemes. Conclusions: The results of this study inform future community-based interventions and the creation of more inclusive educational and workplace environments. This research further serves to elevate voices of the autistic community in promoting success in adulthood for this population and in creating a more inclusive future.