Boosting post-school outcomes

Abstract

This chapter provides five evidence-based Employability Principles to guide transition planning for adolescents on the spectrum to enhance their success in finding employment after leaving school. Despite their numerous strengths, many adolescents on the autism spectrum have difficulty transitioning from high school to employment or further education and training. To remediate these barriers and enhance success post-school, adolescents should engage in formal transition planning, ideally beginning in Year 9. Formal transition planning should be guided by five Employability Principles: 1) encourage the adolescent to dream big; 2) start transition planning early; 3) promote adolescent-centred planning; 4) focus on the ‘big picture’; and 5) have a champion on the team. Additionally, the chapter will provide practical strategies and resources to put the principles into action in the classroom setting. These are based on the Better OutcOmes and Successful Transitions for Autism (BOOST-A), a web-based, autism-specific program that was developed to prepare adolescents on the autism spectrum for leaving school. The BOOST-A has been leveraged to develop the myWAY Employability platform, a holistic and inclusive online portal to guide planning for life after high school with a focus on further education, training, and employment.