Work-Related Social Skills Interventions for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Throughout the Life Course

Social skills are critical to workplace success and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by challenges with these skills contributing to a disproportionate unemployment rate. The aim of this study was to characterize interventions that focus on work-related social skills for individuals with ASD. A scoping review was conducted to map the state of the literature on work-related social skills interventions on a global scale using a life course conceptual framework. Database searches of CINAHL, PubMed, ERIC, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were conducted. Additional sources were identified through web searches, manual journal searches, scanning reference lists, and contacting experts. Studies describing work-related social skills for individuals with ASD of all ages on a global scale were included. In total, 22 scholarly and grey literature studies on work-related social skills interventions fit the inclusion criteria and information was extracted relevant to work-related social skills and the life course perspective. The year of publication of included studies ranges from 1999 to 2019 with 45% of studies being published within the last three years. Sixty-three percent of included studies focused on individuals 18 and older, while 95% of articles did not implicitly or explicitly mention the life course perspective. Recommendations for future research and practice are provided.