L’intégration en emploi des personnes ayant un trouble du spectre de l’autisme : évaluation d’un programme de soutien à l’emploi et exploration des facteurs soutenant l’intégration en entreprise

Individual with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a much lower employment rate than the general population. Difficulties experienced during social interactions are some of the main factors hindering their job search and their job retention. However, many adults with ASD have characteristics that are valued by the labour market. Our study evaluates the implementation and the outputs of the employment program at Action main-d’œuvre (AMO), a community organization located in Montreal, offering employment services for individuals with ASD who do not have an intellectual disability. More specifically, we examined the characteristics of their clients, the services offered, the outcomes of the program and the satisfaction with their services. In addition, we aimed to understand the integration process into a new job of employees supported by AMO and what factors influenced the success of this integration. To understand the program implementation, outcomes and customer satisfaction at AMO, we recruited 37 participants receiving AMO services as a first step. These participants completed questionnaires at the start of their access to the services, as well as after 6 weeks of employment or after 6 to 9 months of unsuccessful job search. In addition, we consulted their files at AMO during the 12 months following the start of their participation in the study. When a participant who had found a job gave us permission, we invited their employer to complete a questionnaire on their satisfaction with AMO’s services and their appreciation of their employee. Eleven employers agreed to participate in the study.  The first article of this thesis shows that the participants had autism manifestations of all possible levels: mild, moderate or severe. In addition, 38% of participants had adaptive abilities below the normal range. A large proportion of the participants (62%) had high levels of anxiety. Our results indicated that 62.1% of the participants obtained paid employment. However, only 59.2% of participants who found a job remained employed. The time spent on employed participants varied widely, from 0 to 21 contacts according to the files of the clients. Counsellors also had to work with other professionals to support participants’ complex needs in other areas of their lives, such as social workers and special educators. Satisfaction with services was high, both among participants with ASD and among employers. To understand the process of integrating an employee with ASD into an organization and the contribution of organizational factors to this process, we wrote nine case studies based on interviews with 18 other participants. According to criteria ensuring the diversity of the cases studied, we first recruited a sample of 4 managers in collaboration with AMO. Subsequently, we recruited another sample of 5 clients, as well as their counsellor, and their manager (for 4 of these clients). In our second article, we found that the quality of the relationship between the supervisor and his employee was the most important dimension explaining the success or failure of the integration process for employees with ASD. This dimension was important at all stages of the process, from hiring and until the employee was in a situation of inclusion or was no longer employed. This finding can be understood with the leader-member exchange theory (LMX), which explains how the quality of the supervisor’s relationship with each of his subordinates contributes to positive results for himself and for each employee. The quality of this relationship was influenced by the action of the employment counsellor (also named job coach) who facilitated communication between the supervisor and the employee. The type and intensity of support varied depending on the unique communication and social interaction challenges of each employee. The results of these two articles demonstrate the diversity of AMO’s clients and their support needs as well as the usefulness of the services in supporting them in finding employment. The less favorable job retention results and our understanding of the factors influencing job integration demonstrate the importance of providing support to clients with ASD in the longer term.

Keyphrases: leadership, autism, employment, leadership, leader-member exchange, mental health, supported employment