The vast majority of research examining interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has focused almost exclusively on early intervention services and supports, with limited efforts going to support adolescents and adults with ASD (Wong et al., 2015). This is especially concerning as it has been estimated that approximately 50,000 individuals with ASD turn 18 years old each year in the United States alone (Shattuck et al., 2012b). Employment opportunities are often limited for those with disabilities, but individuals with ASD tend to have greater difficulty finding and sustaining employment than those with other disabilities, possibly due to a lack of appropriate social skills. The literature on vocational skills and work related social skills for adolescents and adults with ASD is limited and many of the published studies are considered to be of poor quality, making it difficult to make inferences or draw conclusions regarding the most effective vocational treatment approaches for adolescents and adults with ASD. The dissertation is comprised of three separate studies that examined the current issues surrounding the vocational skills literature for adolescents and adults with ASD. The first study reviewed all single case experimental design (SCED) studies from 1980-2017 that explicitly taught vocational or vocational social skills to adolescents or adults with ASD. Each study was evaluated by applying the Single-Case Design Technical Documentation from the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC; Kratochwill et al., 2010; 2013) to ensure it sufficiently met the methodical rigor for the selected design. A total of twenty-four studies met inclusion criteria and were categorized as video modeling, audio cueing, textual cueing, and additional intervention strategies. Half of the experiments met standards or met standards with reservations and only half of those experiments demonstrated strong or moderate evidence of effect. None of the interventions could be categorized as an EBP. The second study evaluated the effectiveness of video modeling to teach two adolescents with ASD two or three vocational and social skills in a simulated job setting. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) technicians implemented a video modeling intervention 1 to 3 times per week for approximately 2 hours each session. Videos for social skills were embedded into videos for vocational tasks. A multiple probe design across behaviors was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Results indicate video modeling was effective for teaching vocational skills, although a functional relation was not demonstrated for one participant due to lack of sufficient opportunity for replication. Mixed results were observed for social skills. The third study utilized a multiple probe design across behaviors to evaluate the effectiveness of video modeling on the acquisition of vocational and social skills among 3 adolescents with ASD in a public high school. A school para-professional was trained to facilitate the intervention to teach participants 4 vocational tasks and 4 social skills necessary to operate a concession stand for employees of the school. Matrix training was used to facilitate generalization of the social skills across vocational tasks. Results indicate video modeling was effective for teaching vocational skills and participants were able to use most social skills across vocational tasks. Participants generalized vocational skills to a new setting with actual customers, but had difficulty performing social skills in the generalization setting.
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