Workplace-Specific Social Skills for Autistic Individuals
November 16, 2022
By: Organization for Autism Research
Categories: Employment, Families, Self-Advocates
Although social skills may not be necessary for your young adult to perform the actual job, they may be needed to help them keep the job or be more socially included at work. The social skills demanded vary from place to place, but there are basic skills that every employee should know. This blog post provides an overview of the areas where your autistic young adult may need assistance or training to perform the job.
OAR’s guidebook, A Guide for Transition to Adulthood (2nd edition, 2021), provides tips and worksheets to help autistic young adults navigate the transition process. This blog post and infographic (adapted from the Transition Guide) share workplace-specific social skills for autistic individuals.
As an employee, your young adult will represent the company they work for. People make judgments about an individual based on appearance. Therefore, it is important to present oneself appropriately and professionally. Aspects of personal presentation include:
Some autistic individuals have trouble effectively communicating their wants, needs, likes, or dislikes to others. Scripts can be developed to practice typical work social situations. As such, instruction in the following communication skill sets may help:
Social behaviors, by definition, are particularly challenging for autistic individuals. Complicating this issue is the belief among many employers that social competence on the job (e.g., being a team player) is as important as production competence. Therefore, some areas of social competence that should be covered in your transition plan include:
This post was adapted from A Guide for Transition to Adulthood (2021). Click here to download or order the newly updated guide.