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Research Article                                                                                                                                        Open Access

## Toward the Successful Employment of Adults with Autism: A First Analysis of Special Interests and Factors Deemed Important for Vocational Performance

Jennifer Christina Kirchner * & Isabel Dziobek

Cluster of Excellence Languages of Emotion, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

*Corresponding author: jennifer.kirchner@fu-berlin.de

## Abstract

Background: Adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and with intelligence quotients in the normal range are disproportionately affected by unemployment.

Objective: We sought to assess  special  interests  that  could  bear  potential  for  employment  as  well  as  factors deemed relevant for work performance in adults with ASD.

Method: A newly compiled self-report online questionnaire was administered to high-functioning adults with ASD to assess special interests as well as factors that both interfere with and facilitate work performance.

Results: Participants reported that they spent an average of 26 hours per week on their special interests, and their average level of proficiency was rated as very good. Although special interests were reported to be in the social sciences and the creative fields as often as they were in the natural sciences and technology/engineering, the  most  common  approach  taken  within  those  fields  was  systemizing  rather  than  a  creative  or  knowledgeacquiring pursuit. Social interaction problems with coworkers and superiors as well as sensory issues were most often rated as interfering with work performance. In addition, mental underload was rated as an important factor that  interfered  with  work  performance,  whereas  excessive  demands  were  not.  Among  the  factors  most  often reported  to  facilitate  work  performance  were  employers'  and  colleagues'  awareness  of  the  individual's  ASD diagnosis.

Conclusion: Our data suggest that special interests among individuals with ASD may bear important potential for employment. Given the focus on systemizing in this population, recent efforts to create job opportunities in the information technology sector specifically for high-functioning individuals with ASD are a promising start. However, these efforts should be expanded into other fields.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, special interests, employment

## Introduction

Autism  was  first  described  in  the  1940s  by  Leo Kanner (1). The condition is characterized by early impairments in social interaction and communication  and  by  a  restricted  repertoire  of activities and interests (2). Although it was originally assumed  that  autism  was  a  rare  disorder, with approximately  2  to  4  children  per  10,000  affected (3), recent studies have reported prevalence rates of approximately 1% for all autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) (4,5). Since Kanner's first description, enormous  progress  has  been  made  in  the  area  of autism  research,  but  only  in  recent  decades  has there been a shift in focus from children with ASD to adults with ASD.

Studies  of  outcomes  in  adulthood  have  shown that symptom severity often decreases with age (6); however,  individuals  with  ASD  seem  to  remain dependent on their families after their transition to adulthood  (7,8),  and  their  employment  outcomes are poor (8-10). Shattuck and colleagues (10) analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Transition  Study  2,  wave  4,  a  nationally  representative  survey  of  young  adults  who  had  received special education services during high school. Individuals with ASD had the lowest rates of ever having been employed during the first six years after high  school  (55.1%)  as  compared  with  individuals with other disabilities (i.e., speech/language impairments, learning disabilities, and mental retardation). Roux and colleagues (11) found comparable results when analyzing data from wave 5 of this same study. Approximately 50%  of individuals with ASD between the ages of 21 and 25 years had the lowest rate of currently or ever having a  paid  job  after  leaving  high  school  as  compared with individuals with emotional disturbances, learning disabilities, and speech/language impairments.  Furthermore,  average  wages  and  the variability  of  jobs  were  lower  in  the  ASD  group than in the comparison groups. At the time of the study,  approximately  one  third  of  the  participants were employed.

Howlin  and  colleagues  (8)  followed  up  with  a cohort  of  individuals  who  were  diagnosed  with autism during childhood and reported that only nine out  of  68  individuals  (age  range,  21  to  48  years) were  competitively  employed  at  the  time  of  the follow-up study; most of the others were working in sheltered work environments. Studies of supported employment programs and vocational rehabilitation services  are  still  limited  and  are  often  of  poor research quality (12). Burgess and Cimera  (13) found that approximately  one  third  of  participants with ASDs who participated in a vocational rehabilitation service were employed; however, rates varied  between  25%  and  50%  across  the  United States. Another study by Howlin and colleagues (14) examined the outcomes of a supported employment service  (NAS  Prospects)  for  adults  with  ASD  and intelligence quotients of at least 60 and found that, after  eight  years,  approximately  two  thirds  of  the participants  were  employed,  with  most  of  their contracts  being  permanent.  Mawhood  and  Howlin (15) conducted a quasi-experimental study that compared employment outcomes between an experimental group of high-functioning adults with ASD  (n  =  30)  who  received  support  with  job finding, work preparation, and communication with their  employers  with  those  of  a  control  group  of high-functioning adults with ASD (n = 20) who did not receive any support. After two years, the experimental group showed significantly higher rates  of  employment  (63%)  as  compared  with  the control group (25%).

Evidently, employment outcome varied considerably  in  these  revised  studies;  however,  results are difficult to compare due to the different elements  of  support  offered,  the  duration  of  the studies, and the functioning levels of the participants.  It  has  been  suggested  that  especially high-functioning individuals with  ASD  may  be disadvantaged in terms of access to the support they need  to  find  employment.  Taylor  and  Seltzer  (16) concluded that youths with ASD 'in the mid-level of functioning-not severe enough to receive adult day services but too severe to function independently- (…) are 'falling through the cracks' during the transition to adulthood.'

During  the  last  decade,  there  have  been  new efforts to create job opportunities for highfunctioning individuals with ASD by start-up companies  in  the  information  technology  sector, such as Specialisterne (e.g., Denmark,  Iceland), Passwerk (Belgium), and Aspiritech (United States), most  of  which  train  their  employees  as  software testers and offer job coaching and other individual support.  Software  testing  is  believed  to  be  a  task that autistic individuals perform well as a result of a working  style  characterized  by  attention  to  detail (17),  precision,  an  affinity  for  repetitive  tasks  (18), and  a  general interest in  technology  (19).  This approach  has  been  successful  for  the  creation  of jobs  for  autistic  individuals,  and  there  are  similar start-up  companies  in  numerous  other  countries (e.g.,  Germany,  Japan,  Switzerland).  However,  the number  of  jobs  offered  by  these  companies  is limited,  and  they  seem  to  match  the  strengths  of only a subgroup of adults with ASD.

An appropriate job-match based on interests and strengths while at the same time considering weaknesses and offering long-term on-the-jobsupport seems to be the key to successful employment  (20-22).  Migliore  and  colleagues  (23) found the probability of leaving a vocational rehabilitation program with employment to be four times greater among those who received job placement  services  than  for  those  who  did  not. Hence, job placement is the strongest predictor of successful  employment.  That  being  said,  little  is known about the typical strengths and interests of individuals with ASD.

Surprisingly,  the  common  presence  of  special interests in high-functioning adults with ASD, which  could  guide the search  for  employment strategies, has been mostly disregarded by the scientific  community.  Special  interests  have  been estimated to exist in 90%  of individuals with Asperger syndrome (24), and Asperger himself (25) claimed in his first descriptions that special interests can  lead  individuals  with  the  syndrome  to  outstanding  achievements  in  their  chosen  areas.  To date,  only  a  few  studies  have  addressed  special interests  in  individuals  with  ASD,  and  these  have been  limited  to children and  teenagers  (26-29). Standardized instruments to assess special interests and  their  potential  for  employment  in  individuals with ASD are thus currently lacking.

The  main  goal  of  this  exploratory  study  was  to assess for the first time the areas of special interest for  adults  with  ASD.  In  addition,  we  sought  to identify  more  generally  factors  that  are  important for  the  successful  employment  of  individuals  with ASD.

## Methods

Survey development

To  assess  information  about  employment  from individuals  with  ASD  for  this  exploratory  study,  a self-constructed questionnaire was used. The survey consisted of three parts: 1) background information and evaluation of the employment situation; 2) the individuals' special interests; and 3) factors interfering  with  and  facilitating  job  performance. (The items of the questionnaire can be found in the Appendix.) There was no forced answering format (apart  from  the  diagnostic  items,  which  had  to  be filled  out),  and  participants  were  allowed  to  skip questions. In the Results section later in this article, we  indicate  how  many  participants  answered  each item, and the results reported refer to that number accordingly.  The  questionnaire  was  developed  in cooperation  with  a  start-up  company  seeking  to develop jobs for individuals with ASD and a focus group  of  adults  with  ASDs  to  ensure  accessibility, respect, inclusion, and relevance of items.

## Part  1:  Assessment  of  autism  diagnosis  and  background information

Autism  diagnosis  was  assessed  with  the  use  of  a two-step  procedure.  Participants  were  first  asked more broadly if they were on the autism spectrum. Next, participants were asked if they had an official clinical ASD diagnosis and, if so, to indicate which one. Only those participants who reported that they had  an  official clinical  diagnosis  of  ASD  were included in the study. Additional background information  (e.g.,  education,  current  job  situation, satisfaction with job situation) was also obtained.

## Part 2: Special interests

Special  interests  were  assessed  with  the  use  of  a two-step  procedure.  First,  participants  were  asked to describe their special interests in an open-answer format. The information provided was subject to an analysis of the main approach by which the special interest was pursued (e.g., programming, categorizing). Second, each participant was asked to choose  from  a  list  the  field  of  his  or  her  special interest  (e.g.,  mathematics,  sociology).  Although  a comprehensive choice of fields was provided, participants  could  add  additional  fields  if  none  of those provided matched their special interests.

Approach taken to the special interest. Thirty-one participants  were  included  in  the  analysis,  because only their answers provided enough  detail for categorization according to the approach with which their special interest was pursued. In accordance with the principles of qualitative content analysis  (30),  as  a  first  step,  categories  were  built inductively  on  the  basis  of  the  content  of  the provided answers. After that, anchor examples were collected,  and  coding  rules  were  defined  to  specify the  assignment  of  the  different  answers  to  the categories  (Table  1).  In  the  next  step,  participants' answers  (e.g., 'searching  for  errors in  software code,' 'collecting information about autism diagnosis and diagnostic system') were assigned to the four categories by two independent raters. The Cohen's kappa value for the assessment of interrater agreement was .94.

TABLE 1. Approaches

|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | Examples                                                                                     |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| The creativity approach consists of all creative activities, such as making music, painting, and designing. The activity itself has to be creative, but this criterion is not met by simply being in a creative field                                                                                                       | Playing an instrument, designing objects                                                     |
| The systemizing approach contains all activities that involve analyzing, constructing, or controlling a system. A system is defined as something that follows repeated, lawful patterns. The focus can be on small parts of the system, such as numbers, or the overall purpose of the system, such as programming software | Categorizing photographs, analyzing mathematical problems                                    |
| The knowledge approach comprises those activities that are best described as accumulating knowledge about certain subjects                                                                                                                                                                                                  | Acquiring information about plants, performing Internet research regarding historical events |
| The 'other' category should be assigned only if the approach to the special interest does not fall into any of the above categories                                                                                                                                                                                         |                                                                                              |

Field  of  special  interest. For  analysis  purposes,  the fields were grouped into superordinate interest themes  (29):  human  and  social  sciences,  natural sciences  and  technology/engineering,  and  creative fields.  See  Table  2 for  a  list  of  the  fields  used  and their correspondence with the special interest themes.

TABLE 2. Superordinate interest themes and fields

| Human and Social Sciences                   | Anthropology, education, ethnology, history, law, philosophy, politics, psychology, sociology, economics   |
|---------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Natural Sciences and Technology/Engineering | Biology, biochemistry, geology, agriculture, mathematics, physics, engineering, informatics                |
| Creative Fields                             | Architecture, photography, graphic design, product design, fine arts, music                                |

Time spent on special interests and skills. Participants were asked to indicate how much time they spent on their special interests in a typical week and to evaluate their skill level with regard to their special interests.

## Part 3: Factors interfering with and facilitating job performance

A  list of factors that potentially facilitate job performance and of those that may interfere with it was developed. The authors generated items based on  a literature review  (22,31)  and  on  personal conversations with adults with ASD. A focus group of adults with ASDs then provided feedback on the items  and  added  items  that  were  deemed  relevant. Study participants were asked to select from this list the factors that had interfered with their job performance  in  the  past  and  the  factors  that  they deemed  important  for  facilitating  job  performance in general.

## Data collection

The online  survey  was  distributed  through  mailing lists and postings on bulletin boards for the autism community, and handouts were displayed in outpatient clinics. Participants received no incentive to participate. All surveys were completed anonymously. All parts of the study were conducted according  to  the  declaration  of  Helsinki,  and  all subjects provided written informed consent.

## Results

## Part 1: Autism diagnosis and background information

The  survey  was  completed  by  108  adults.  Those participants  with  an  official  diagnosis  (N  =  76), which was of Asperger syndrome in all cases, were included in the analysis. For demographic data, see Table 3.

TABLE 3. Demographic Information

|                                   | N           | %               |
|-----------------------------------|-------------|-----------------|
| Gender (N = 76)                   |             |                 |
| Male                              | 33          | 43.4            |
| Female                            | 43          | 56.6            |
| Age (N = 76)*                     | 36.1 ± 11.1 | Range: 19 to 60 |
| Education (N = 67)                |             |                 |
| No school degree                  | 2           | 2.7             |
| Basic school degree (~9 years)    | 14          | 21              |
| Vocational degree                 | 12          | 18              |
| Superior school education (~A     | 17          | 25.3            |
| University degree                 | 22          | 32.8            |
| Current job situation (N = 64)    |             |                 |
| Employed                          | 21          | 32.8            |
| Self-employed                     | 8           | 12.5            |
| Currently studying                | 3           | 4.7             |
| Disability benefits               | 3           | 4.7             |
| Sheltered work                    | 2           | 3.1             |
| Internship or vocational training | 4           | 6.3             |
| Unemployed                        | 23          | 35.9            |

*Values are given as mean ± standard deviation With  regard  to  their  current  job  situation  (N  = 64),  33%  of  participants  reported  that  they  were employed,  13%  said  that  they  were  self-employed, and  36%  reported  that  they  were  unemployed. Participants who were currently employed and those who were working freelance, respectively, indicated their satisfaction levels with their current employment situations to be more or less satisfying (N = 31; mean = 3.01; standard deviation [SD] = 1.15).  On  average,  participants  indicated  that  they had not or had only slightly been able to use their vocational  potential  in  the  past,  with  unemployed participants  scoring  significantly  lower  (N  =  23; mean = 1.74; SD = 1.1) than participants with jobs (N = 31; mean = 2.7; SD = 1.3; t(52) = 2.76; P < .01). Unemployed individuals (N = 23; mean = 4.3; SD = 0.93) scored as high as employed individuals (N = 31, mean = 4.26; SD = 1.03, t(52) = -0.17; P =  .87)  when  asked  to  indicate  whether  they  had relevant skills for the job market.

## Part 2: Special interests

Approach taken to the special interest. The distribution of  the  categories  was  55%  for  the  systemizing approach, 28% for the creativity approach, 14% for the knowledge approach, 3% for other approaches. Two items on which the raters did not agree were excluded.

Field of  special  interest. Of the  54  participants  who indicated  their  special  interests,  38%  reported  a special interest in the natural sciences or technology/engineering, 34% had a special interest in  the  human  and  social  sciences,  and  28%  had  a special interest in creative fields.

TABLE 4. Approach and field of special interest

| Approach (N =31)                                 |   N |   % |
|--------------------------------------------------|-----|-----|
| Systemizing                                      |  17 |  55 |
| Creativity                                       |   9 |  28 |
| Knowledge                                        |   4 |  14 |
| Other                                            |   1 |   3 |
| Field (N = 54)                                   |     |     |
| Natural sciences and                             |  21 |  38 |
| technology/engineering Human and social sciences |  18 |  34 |
| Creative                                         |  15 |  28 |

Time  spent  on  special  interests  and  skills. Participants (N = 51) reported that they spent an average of 26.2 hours per week  (SD  =  16.3)  on  their special interests. There was no significant difference between participants with or without jobs. Participants rated their average levels of skill regarding their special interests as very good (mean = 4.2; SD = 0.91).

Factors facilitating work performance

Shared working space

Stable working routine

Flexible working hours

General

conditions

Guidance

Awareness

FIGURE 1B

6.9

44.8

## Part 3: Factors interfering with and facilitating job performance 74.1

Social  factors  such  as  problems  with  colleagues (76%) and superiors (74%) as well as sensory issues involving smell (60%) and background noise (64%) were most  often rated as interfering with job performance. With respect to intellectual challenge, mental  underload  was  rated  by  two  thirds  of  the participants (70%) as an interfering factor, whereas excessive demands were only indicated by a minority  of  participants  (23%).  Among  the  factors most frequently rated as facilitating job performance were employers' (78%) and colleagues' (66%) awareness of the individual's autism diagnosis, quiet surroundings  (76%),  and  an  undisturbed  working space  (74%).  Complete  results  are  displayed in Figure 1, A and B.

FIGURE 1A

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FIGURE 1B

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## Discussion

We  found  that,  despite  high  levels  of  education, more than one third of the participants with ASD in this  study  were  unemployed.  This  number  is  well above  the  current  general  unemployment  rate  in Germany of 6.6% (32), but it is in line with other studies that have reported high unemployment rates among individuals with ASD  (8,10,33-35).  We

51.7

67.2

carefully  suggest  that,  despite  predominantly  high levels  of  education,  individuals  with  ASD  seem  to not be able to fulfill their full potential. Given that unemployment is associated with emotionalbehavioral issues and health problems (36) and that it has a negative impact on life satisfaction (37), this is alarming. Moreover,  several researchers have pointed out the high cost to society that arises from the  high  number  of  unemployed  individuals  with ASD (38,39).

## Special interests

This article is the first to assess special interests with the  use  of  a  two-step  procedure  that  focuses  on both the approach and the field of interest. Although an effort is made to relate our results to previous research, this is somewhat hindered by the different  approaches  taken  to examine  interests among  individuals with  ASD  by prior studies (26,27,29) and the fact that study participants were children and teenagers rather than adults. Furthermore,  concepts  and  associated  terminology vary across studies, with some focusing on 'obsessions' (26), others on 'circumscribed interests' (28), and still others on 'repetitive behaviors' (27).

Special  interests  in  the  fields  of  natural  sciences and  technology/engineering  were  most  commonly reported  (38%),  but  interests  in  the  human  and social  sciences  (34%)  and  in  creative  fields  (28%) were  almost  as  common.  This  seems  surprising given that autism  has  traditionally  been  mainly associated with the natural sciences. That being said, our  data  involving  the  different  approaches  with which  special  interests  were  pursued  are  able  to shed some further light on this unexpected finding. In  fact,  we  found  systemizing  to  be  the  most common approach when pursuing special interests (55%), including in the social sciences and creative fields.  This  was  followed  by  the  creative  approach (28%) and the collecting knowledge approach (14%).  This  is  in  line  with  other  studies,  which found high rates of special interests that were based on systemizing skills (27,28). Moreover, systemizing has  been  described  by  Baron-Cohen  (40)  as  a common trait among individuals with ASD.

Only  limited  research  exists  regarding  creative interests  pursued  by  individuals  with  ASD.  Some authors have reported music and art-related activities  in  their  studies  of special  interests  among children and adolescents with ASD (26,29). Although  collection  of  knowledge  was  the  least common approach taken to pursue a special interest in  our  sample,  other  studies  (27,28,41)  reported high  levels  of  learning,  reading,  and  memorizing facts  to  be  associated  with  the  special  interests assessed in their participants.

Participants in our study reported that they spend a remarkable amount of time-26 hours per week, on average-pursuing their special interests. Furthermore,  they  evaluated  their  own  skills  with regard to their special interests as being very good. Both of these factors are important indicators that it would be of value to consider special interests when developing employment strategies. Interestingly, unemployed  participants  evaluated  themselves  as possessing relevant skills for the job market to the same  degree  as  employed  participants  did,  which indicates  that  unemployed  adults  with  ASD  also bear potential for employment.

We  consider  the  jobs  that  have  recently  been created  in  the  information  technology  sector  as  an important  first  step  toward  more  employment  for individuals  with  ASD.  Software  testing  evidently meets the strengths of individuals with ASD whose special  interests  are  characterized  by  a  systemizing approach and that lie in the field of technology/engineering.  However,  individuals  who have  interests  in  technology/engineering  but  who like to engage in a creative manner would be likely to  perform  better  at  software  development  rather than  software  testing,  whereas  an  individual  who approaches his or her interest in technology/ engineering through collecting knowledge may enjoy working as an author of computer handbooks. This example indicates the importance of assessing the approach to and the field of special interest independently to inform employment strategies.  Nye  and  colleagues  (42)  found  interests to  predict  vocational  performance  in  neurotypical individuals,  thereby  underlining  the  importance  of the match between a person's interest and his or her vocational setting. Although  this finding awaits replication  in  individuals  with  ASD,  we  predict associations to be equally high or stronger in these individuals, because pronounced interests are more prevalent among those with ASD than in neurotypical individuals. However, the success of a job  placement  strategy  is  also  determined  by  the characteristics  of  the  corresponding  job  market. Specialists in professions in the fields of technology/engineering and the natural sciences are more  sought after and may  be offered better conditions  than  those  in  the  fields  of  human  and social sciences or the creative field. Jobs in the latter fields are usually rarer and hence more competitive. They are often characterized by short-term contracts or freelance employment.

## Interfering and facilitating factors

Among the factors rated  most  often  as  interfering with work performance, participants reported a lack of  cognitive  challenge;  excessive  work  demands were reported much less. Together with the often- reported social problems at work (31), the dilemma of  many  individuals  with  ASD  becomes  evident: although  they  are  often  proficient  with  respect  to work-related demands, social problems may impede their ability to get or to keep jobs (31). Consequently, high-functioning individuals with ASD  often  work  in  lower-level  job  positions  (7). However, even in those positions, the social demands  may  still  be  overly  challenging,  whereas the lack of cognitive challenge adds to dissatisfaction with the employment situation.

Another important finding of the current study is that  many  participants  report  perceptual  problems as interfering with work performance. These include irritations  and  negative  reactions  in  response  to body  contact,  noise,  specific  sounds,  temperature, and lighting. The new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of  Mental  Disorders,  Fifth  Edition allows  for  sensory abnormalities by including hyper-reactivity to sensory  input  in  the  diagnostic  criteria  for  ASD (43).  Employers  should  therefore  carefully  assess the  sensory  issues  of  individuals  with  ASD  and adjust  the  workspace  accordingly.  Instruments  for the assessment of sensory issues, such as the Adolescent Adult Sensory Profile (44), can serve as inspiration for the design of checklists. Alternatively,  sensory  issues  are  also  among  the factors deemed important for facilitating work performance,  because  many  participants  indicate quiet  surroundings  and  an  undisturbed  working space to be desirable. Another crucial factor that is deemed important for facilitating work performance is employers' and  colleagues' awareness of the employee's autism diagnosis. This may partly explain the success of companies in the technology sector  that  employ  individuals  with  ASD,  which deal with the diagnoses of their employees openly.

## Limitations

Our  study  has  several  strengths,  but  it  also  has limitations. This research is the first to assess special interests  in  adults  with  ASD  and  to  discuss  their potential as part of employment strategies. However,  the  size  of  our  research  sample  was relatively  small,  which  limits  the  generalization  of the  findings.  In  future  studies,  we  plan  to  collect data from more participants. In addition, the online procedure may have influenced the sample composition (i.e.,  only  those  individuals  with  ASD who  have  access  to  the  Internet  and  who  are especially interested in work opportunities may have taken part in the study). The results we obtained are based  on  variable  sample  sizes,  and  we  did  not include  a  comparative  group  in  our  study.  We believe that our approach was warranted given the exploratory  nature  of  the  study  and  given  that  no research to date has assessed this type of employment-related information. Future studies should compare the interests and needs of individuals with ASD that are relevant to employment with those of neurotypical individuals and other clinical groups.

## Conclusions

The  special  interests  of  individuals  with  ASD  are pursued intensively and lie in a wide range of fields. Participants  estimate  their  competencies  in  their fields  of  interest  to  be  good  as  well  as  suitable  for employment.  Thus,  our  data  suggest  that  special interests among  individuals  with  ASD  may  be valuable sources to rely on when developing employment strategies for autistic individuals. Social interaction problems and sensory issues were most often  rated  as  interfering  with  work  performance, whereas  employers'  and  colleagues'  awareness  of the  individual's  autism  diagnosis  was  most  often reported to facilitate work performance.

Given  the  German  Code  of  Social  Law,  which postulates equal rights to employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities, there is a great need for  more  research  efforts  to  target  employment strategies for individuals with ASD.

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## Acknowledgements

We thank  Dirk  Müller-Remus  and  Sebastian  Dern for their important input and assistance during the development  of  the  questionnaire  and  the  data collection process. We  also want to thank all individuals with autism who  provided valuable comments  about  the  questionnaire  or  participated in the study.

Sources  of  funding: Jennifer  Kirchner  receives  a PhD scholarship from the Evangelisches Studienwerk  Villigst.  The  present  study  is  part  of her  dissertation.  Isabel  Dziobek  is  head  of  the junior research group 'Understanding Interaffectivity' of the 'Languages of Emotion' Cluster of  Excellence  at  the  Freie  Universität  Berlin,  from which she receives her salary.

| APPENDIX Questionnaire assessing special interests and factors that facilitate and interfere with work performance in individuals with                                                                                                                                             | APPENDIX Questionnaire assessing special interests and factors that facilitate and interfere with work performance in individuals with                                                                                                                                                                                  |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Part I                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| 1)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Do you consider yourself to be on the autism spectrum? Yes/No                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| 2)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Do you have a clinical diagnosis of autism? Please indicate which one No/Yes, Asperger syndrome/Yes, Kanner autism/Yes, atypical autism/Yes, other, please specify/I'd rather not say                                                                                                                                   |
| 3)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Please indicate your highest level of education (A list of German levels of education was provided)                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| 4)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Which of these options best describes your current situation? I am a freelancer./I am employed./I am employed in a sheltered workplace./I am doing vocational training./I am doing vocational training in a sheltered workshop./I am studying./I am doing an internship./I am unemployed./I receive disability benefits |
| 5)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | How satisfied are you with your current work situation? 1 (Not satisfied) - 5 (Very satisfied)                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| 6)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | I believe that so far I have been able to use my vocational potential according to my skills 1 (Not true) - 5 (Very true)                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| 7)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | I believe that I possess skills that are relevant for employment 1 (Not true) - 5 (Very true)                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| Part II Many individuals on the autism spectrum possess strongly pronounced interests or 'special interests.' In the following section, we want you to describe your special interest. Please choose the one which, in your opinion, would be the most fitting for vocational use. | Part II Many individuals on the autism spectrum possess strongly pronounced interests or 'special interests.' In the following section, we want you to describe your special interest. Please choose the one which, in your opinion, would be the most fitting for vocational use.                                      |
| 1)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Please describe your special interest (e.g., programming websites, rebuilding antique guitars, filing historical street names) Open question format                                                                                                                                                                     |
| 2)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Please indicate your level of knowledge of your special interest 1 (Basic knowledge) - 5 (Excellent knowledge)                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| 3)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | In a typical week, how many hours do you spend on your special interest? Open question format                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| 4)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Please label your special interest with one of the following categories that best matches it The list of categories is provided in Table 2                                                                                                                                                                              |
| Part III                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           | Part III                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| 1)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Please indicate which factors you perceive as interfering with your work (or your work in school in the past)? The list of factors is given in Figure 1 A                                                                                                                                                               |
| 2)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Which factors would you consider to be necessary to facilitate an ideal working environment? The list of factors is given in Figure 1 B                                                                                                                                                                                 |