Educational and vocational disengagement in autistic young adults

Abstract

Successful transition to adulthood poses a great obstacle for many young people with special educational needs (SEN), including autism spectrum conditions (ASC). It is known that those with a SEN are overrepresented among those disengaged. Specifically, autistic young people are over twice as likely to be ‘not in employment, education or training’ (NEET) compared to the general population. Being NEET has wide-ranging implications from poor mental health and suicidal ideation to economic viability and independence. However, to date little is known about how disengagement unfolds in the autistic population specifically. This thesis aims to shed light on this phenomenon by investigating three broad themes: the association of autism and other SEN with disengagement, the implications of disengagement on autistic young people’s lives, and the support needs of autistic young people during their transition to adult life. The first empirical study uses data from the National Pupil Database (NPD) to reveal which groups of young people are at increased risk of becoming NEET. Attention is given to autistic pupils specifically to ascertain whether they are more vulnerable compared to neurotypical and other SEN pupils. The second empirical chapter assesses how disengagement is linked with quality of life (QoL) in autistic young people compared to neurotypical young people. The widely employed WHO-QoL-BREF questionnaire is used to quantify overall QoL and the physical, psychological, social and environmental aspects of it in the autistic and neurotypical sub-groups. In addition, using the add-on modules of the WHO-QoL-BREF we also evaluate how being NEET is associated with the disability and autism-specific aspects of QoL. Continuing in this line, the next empirical chapter examines how disengagement is linked to recent vulnerability experiences in autistic and neurotypical young people. An adapted version of the Vulnerability Experiences Quotient (VEQ), the VEQ-Current is applied to quantify the specific vulnerability experiences of young people across several life domains, including mental health, physical health, basic needs, finances, risk-taking behaviour, abuse, social isolation and social support. The final empirical chapter describes the support available to autistic and neurotypical young people at the time of school transition and at the time of disengagement. Additional support needs are also reviewed for each group. The results are discussed in the context of previous evidence and recommendations are made for service provision. Finally, the thesis’ limitations are considered, and suggestions for future work are offered.