Workplace Discrimination and Autism Spectrum Disorders

299 turn tail 31 (2008) 299308 IOS Press oeuvre divergence and autism spectrum dis dedicates The discipline EEOC Americans with Disabilities Act look for project Todd A. train Wierena , Christine A. Reidb and Brian T. McMahon b,? a b Disability Support divine services, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, USA Department of rehabilitation Counseling, Virginia argona University, Richmond, VA, USA Abstract.Using the Integrated Mission System of the Equal Employment opportunity Commission (EEOC), the profession discrimination experience of Americans with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is documented for Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The inquiryers examine demographic characteristics of the charging parties the industry designation, location, and size of employers against whom complaints atomic physical body 18 ? led the nature of discrimination (i. e. , type of complaint) alleged to occur and the legal outcome or annunciation of these compl aints.Researchers compargon and contrast these key dimensions of trading discrimination involving individuals with ASDs and persons with an some another(prenominal)(prenominal) physical, sensory, and neurological damages. Researchers also attempt to antitheticaliate whether or not the declarations of the ASD charges can be predicted using the variables lendable for analytic thinking. The comparative ? ndings of this re heap indicate that individuals with ASDs were much(prenominal) than believably to make charges of discrimination against sell industry employers. Persons with ASDs were also much likely to make charges of discrimination when they were junior, male, and/or of inseparable American/Alaskan Native ethnicity.The predictive ? ndings of this study indicate that the odds of ASD charges resulting in worthy closedown (i. e. , discrimination determined by the EEOC to impart occurred) increase when the discrimination was encountered in renovation industries and by larger employers. Implications for policy, advocacy and further research efforts are addressed. 1. Introduction Autism Spectrum Disorders The term Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is utilize to refer collectively to the assembly of disorders that comprise the ? ve speci? c, but related, conditions within the diagnostic and Statistical Manual of psychological Disorders,Fourth Edition, Text Revision 3. These disorders fall to a lower place the formal diagnostic umbrella know as permeating developmental Disorders (PDDs) (1) Autistic Disorder, (2) Asperger Syndrome, (3) Retts Disorder, (4) Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and (5) PDD, ? Address for correspondence Brian T. McMahon, Department of renewal Counseling, Virginia Commonwealth Universit, POB 980330, Richmond, VA 23298-0330, USA. Tel. +1 804 827 0917 Fax +1 804 828 1321 E-mail email fostered edu. Not otherwise Speci? ed (NOS). Collectively, they are unremarkably described as autism.The ordinary, or core, chara cteristics shared by each of the ? ve PDDs generally include varying degrees of prejudice in the triad of (1) verbal and non-verbal communication, (2) amicable interaction, and (3) restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior or interests 2,9,33,37,38. Aside from this common triad, additional functional limitations that can often be associated with ASDs include hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli, hyperactivity, aggressiveness, self-injurious behavior, motor dysfunctions, arousal/ activating issues, cognitive de? iencies (including impairments in abstract thought), and physical/medical features 13, 15,41,51. Frequently, individuals with ASDs can also gestate . . . (1) problems gaining social cues and 1051-9815/08/$17. 00 ? 2008 IOS Press and the authors. All rights re military serviced 300 T. A. van Wieren / body of doing discrimination and autism spectrum disorders EEOC & adenosine deaminase facial expressions, (2) dif? furory expressing emotions in convent ionally recognizable ways, (3) in? exibility and discomfort with change, and (4) dif? culty adapting to innovative tasks and routines 35, p. 163. It is all important(p) to realize that nation with ASDs vary finicky a wide continuum of intelligence, clinical characteristics and abilities 15,16,38,41. On peerless extreme, approximately individuals with ASDs deal with severe impairments and require intensifier life-long support. On the other end of the continuum reside individuals who are sometimes referred to as having high-functioning autism, with relatively slight limitations in daily activities. Predicting life outcomes for the population of individuals with ASDs as a whole (merely based on their carrying an ASD diagnosis) is dif? cult because of the real(a)ly wide spectrum of cognitive, linguistic, social nd behavioral functioning from person to person 21. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) simply uses the term autism to refer collectively to the ? ve PDDs included in Autism Spectrum Disorder. It de? nes autism as neurological disorders modify the functioning of the principal characterized by such(prenominal) symptoms as speech and language disorders and pro represent differences in the vogue of relating to commonwealth, objects, and events. The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is presently unable to story exactly how many people in the U. S. re diagnosed with ASDs. At the moment, more is known about the amount of children with ASDs than adults. However, the CDC estimates that the current prevalence rates for ASDs are between both and six per 1,000 individuals 9. It is known that the diagnosis of ASDs has increase steadily in recent years 9. Estimating the change in prevalence over the years is dif? cult to do, as the definitions of and techniques for diagnosing ASDs have broadened. However, the conclusion derived from available evidence is that the current prevale nce of ASDs is roughly triplet to four times higher than it was approximately 30 years ago 14.For instance, in 1994, ASDs were the 10th closely common disability among individuals age 621 years served by overt special pedagogy programs. By 2003, ASDs had risen to be the 6th most common disability 9. The reasons for the apparent increase in ASDs are not exactly clear. It may be that the actual occurrence of ASDs is on the rise. However, a more likely explanation for at least part of the increase is the manner in which professionals have been classifying ASDs in recent years 14. For example, in 1991 ASDs were added as a special education exceptionality within the US usual school system 9.ASDs are known to be more prevalent in males than females, but do not seem to be systematically or conclusively linked to ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, educational level or geographic region 16, 53. ASDs do tend to occur statistically more often than evaluate for individuals with certain medical conditions, such as Fragile X syndrome, tuberous induration, congenital rubella syndrome, and untreated phenylketonuria 9. Also, ASDs are thought to occur sometimes in conjunction with harmful substances ingested during pregnancy, such as thalidomide 9. 2. Background . 1. Employment challenges It is rise known that many individuals diagnosed with ASDs face tump overable dif? culty in obtaining and view asing employment 1,5,8,22,35. A 1998 study estimated that only 18% of adults with ASDs in the U. S. were employed in some type of work 20. Furthermore, people with ASDs who do obtain work tend to struggle with maintaining employment. by chance because of the social, communicative and behavioral de? cits associated with ASDs, issues can often arise in the study with coworkers, supervisors, customers, or in the performance of duties 26. . 2. Need for the study Even though it is well understood that individuals with ASDs experience considerable dif? culties in general with obtaining and maintaining employment, very little evidence-based knowledge has been available for understanding the more speci? c issue of work discrimination and how it may contribute to the groups overall employment challenges. To date, a contextualized understanding of the workplace discrimination towards workers and appli bank buildings with ASDs has been lacking. Such practical insights into workplace issues re important for the community of work adults with ASDs, their advocates, and fix uprs of vocational rehabilitaiton services. The preponderance of todays ASD research efforts focus on either childhood issues, or on potential medical cures or prevention of ASDs. There is a substantial need for more research to focus on practical adaptation issues for adults with ASDs 6, 36,44,52. T. A. Van Wieren / oeuvre discrimination and autism spectrum disorders EEOC & adenosine deaminase 3. The National EEOC adenosine deaminase research project Until quite recently, th e majority of disability-related orkplace discrimination studies have tended to focus simply on the hiring preferences or attitudes of employers (or hypothetical employers) toward individuals with disabilities 17,19,46. Such studies generally could not examine actual occurrences of discrimination, which are behavioral manifestations of negative attitudes. By and large, they could only offer a perceived notion of workplace discrimination, and not an actual description. Furthermore, studies that attempted to examine Americans with Disabilities Act (adenosine deaminase) Title I cases of private-sector disability-related work discrimination ere peculiar(a) to assessing Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) summary statistics at the allegement-level. Because data were limited, such studies did not provide deeper, more contextual, analyses of the EEOC cases 29. Past studies did not have access to the cases ultimate resolutions, as well as other lucubrate information related to each case. Focusing on frequency of allegations alone may hold in to skewed research conclusions. This is because only an approximate one? fth of all allegations made to the EEOC are ever found to involve suf? cient evidence that disability-related discrimination conclusively occurred 28.Conversely, in approximately four-? fths of all allegations there is insuf? cient evidence for the EEOC to solidly conclude that discrimination took place. However, through an Interagency Personnel Agreement and a Con? dentiality Agreement involving the EEOC, Virginia Commonwealth University obtained the holy adenosine deaminase segment of the EEOCs Integrated Mission System (IMS) database. The IMS contains more than two million allegation records involving allegations of employment discrimination. The VCU subset includes all decide allegations of discrimination made to the EEOC under Title I of the ADA, from July 7, 1992 (the ? rst date the ADA went into effect) to family 30, 2003. The National EEOC ADA Research wander was then developed to better understand the nature, field and dynamics of employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the U. S. private-sector workplace. A hail of studies have already been completed by members of the National EEOC ADA Research Project. Most of the ADA Title I studies completed to date have rivet on speci? c disability groups, including asthma 25, cancer 27, cerebral palsy 23, cumulative trauma disorders 4, deafness and hear- 301 ng impairment 7, diabetes 31, dis? gurement 45, HIV/ aid 10,11, mental retardation 47, miss limbs 50, binary sclerosis 42,43,49, speech impairment 34, spinal cord injury 30, traumatic brain injury 32, and visual impairment 48. 4. The IMS data set Because of the unique level of access now made available to the EEOCs IMS database, it is realistic to examine the following contextual information for each case within the study database (1) demographic characteristics of the Charging ships company (i. e. , individual with the disability) (2) the industry and size of the Responding Party (i. e. employer) (3) the U. S. region from which the allegation modernised, (4) the speci? c type of alleged ADA Title I discriminatory allegation and (5) the speci? c resolution of the case as determined by the EEOC, or by settlement or mediation between the Charging Party (CP) and Responding Party (RP). In this concomitant study, the research questions are answered by comparing and contrasting the employment discrimination experience of Americans with ASDs to that of Americans with other known physical, sensory, and neurological impairments. From these data, a study dataset was extracted to include only those ariables related to the research questions and to maximize consistency, parsimony, and con? dentiality (i. e. , to protect the identity of speci? c CPs and RPs). The extraction process was guided by the following considerations. The unit of study is an allegation it is not an individual CP, nor an individual RP. A single CP may bring more than one allegation. Only unique allegations that do not involve recording errors or duplications are included in the study dataset. All identifying information regarding CPs and RPs was purged except variables important for this research.Study data were strictly limited to allegations brought under Title I of the ADA. Allegations brought under other federal employment statutes were not considered. Further, state allegations were also excluded to maintain a consistent de? nition of both disability and discrimination. To maintain consistency in de? nitions and procedures among the study variables, only allegations received, investigated, and unopen by the EEOC were included. This required the exclusion of allegations referred by the EEOC to litigation for disposition in urbane court, federal or state.Allegations of retaliation were excluded because complaints of this nature do not pertain directly to the existence or c onsequence of disability. 302 T. A. Van Wieren / workplace discrimination and autism spectrum disorders EEOC & ADA Only allegations that were unappealing by the EEOC during the study period, de? ned as July 26, 1992 through September 30, 2003 were included in the study dataset. Finally, open allegations (i. e. , still under investigation) were excluded from the study. This exclusion exists to insure that all allegations in the study dataset are closed, and as such are known to be either with deservingness (i. . , clear-cut by the EEOC to have reasonable cause for discrimination) or Without Merit (i. e. , decided by the EEOC to have no reasonable cause for discrimination). The resulting study dataset includes 328,738 allegations of employment discrimination under ADA Title I that were received, investigated and closed by the EEOC during the study period. These were divided into groups on the basis of disability status including the following two 1. Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs ). The chief(a) group of interest for this special(a) study entails the allegations of discrimination made by individuals who describe having an ASD.The ASD allegations takings reasonable 98 (i. e. , 0. 03% of the total number of cases in the study dataset). However, this is the entire population of EEOC-resolved ASD allegations for the study time period. 2. ecumenical Disability (GENDIS). The comparison group for this study is a compilation of all allegations made by individuals who account impairments within the other physical, sensory, or neurological EEOC disability categories (i. e. , allergies, Alzheimers disease, asthma, back impairment, cancer, cardiovascular impairment, cerebral palsy, chemical sensitivity, cumulative trauma disorder, cystic ? brosis, diabetes, dis? urement, dwar? sm, epilepsy, gastrointestinal impairment, hearing impairment, HIV, kidney impairment, learning disability, mental retardation, missing digits or limbs, three-fold sclerosis, nonparalytic orthopedic impairments, other blood disorder, other neurological impairment, other respiratory impairment, paralysis, speech impairment, tuberculosis, and vision impairment). For this particular study, GENDIS excludes ASD cases. The GENDIS allegations for this study number 174,512 (i. e. , 53. 09% of the total number of cases in the study dataset), and are the entire population of such cases resolved by the EEOC uring the study time period. GENDIS was also used as the primary comparison group for a majority of the other National EEOC ADA Research Project studies completed to date that examined unlike other EEOC disability categories 4,7,10, 23,25,27,3032,42. It is important to consider that the individuals who have actually made allegations of discrimination to the EEOC are likely a smaller number than the sum of individuals who have experienced discrimination. It is likely that many instances of disability-related discrimination go unreported to the EEOC. Individuals may not alwa ys realize that they have experienced discrimination.Or, they may perhaps be aware of discrimination but do not understand their rights, know how to initiate a complaint, or they are fearful of retaliation. The small number of allegations made by individuals with ASDs (98) could lead one to conclude that workplace discrimination is not a signi? cant problem for these individuals. The under-representation of people with ASDs in the workforce has been previously reported, and it is well known that most discrimination involves currently employed persons. However, many individuals with ASDs may not understand their civil rights or how to exercise them.The underreporting of discrimination would then make this particular study all the more important for individuals with ASDs and their advocates. The small number of ASD allegations also raises a technical concern. For most statistical tests, small Ns increase the gamble of type II errors 12,40, or failure to detect actual differences when they exist. Because of the large number of comparisons that were conducted and in order to minimize this risk, the ? level was established at a more stringent level p 0. 01. 5. Project design and methods 5. 1. Variables The IMS data was transferred to the research team rom the EEOC via zip disk. Data needed to answer the research questions were extracted, coded, re? ned, and formatted in Microsoft Access using the aforementioned criteria. The result was a study-speci? c dataset in which the profound unit of measurement is the frequency of allegations, a ratio level of measurement. The other variables for this study are detailed in Table 1. 5. 2. Research nonsubjectives The ? rst research objective for this study was descriptive in nature and focused on the most prevalent characteristics associated with the ADA Title I discrimination allegations made by individuals with ASD.The sulfur objective was comparative in nature and T. A. Van Wieren / body of work discrimination and aut ism spectrum disorders EEOC & ADA 303 Table 1 Parameters of Variables CP AGE (ratio measurement) Years CP sex activity (nominal measurement) Male Female CP RACE (nominal measurement) bloodless African American Latino/Mexican Asian Native American/Alaskan Native Mixed Ethnicity other(a) Ethnicity RP INDUSTRY (nominal measurement) farming Construction Finance, Insurance & Real Estate Manufacturing Mining Public Administration retail Services emigration & Utilities Wholesale Not Classi? edRP SIZE (interval measurement) 15100 employees hundred and one200 employees 201500 employees 501 + employees US orbit (nominal measurement) Northeast Midwest South West U. S. Territory Foreign (U. S. businesses operating abroad) ALLEGATIONS (nominal measurement) line of business obtainment or Membership Issues * Advertising, Apprenticeship, Exclusion/Segregated Union, Hiring, Prohibited Medical Inquiry, Quali? cations Standards, Referral, Testing, & Training Jo b Conditions or Circumstances Issues * Assignment, Bene? ts, Bene? ts (Insurance), Bene? ts (Pension), Demotion, Discipline, Harassment, Intimidation, Job Classi? ation, Maternity, Promotion, Reasonable Accommodation, Segregated Facilities, Seniority, Tenure, Terms/Conditions, Union Representation, & Wages Job Maintenance or Preservation * shaping Discharge, Discharge, Early Retirement Incentive, Involuntary Retirement, Layoff, Recall, Reinstatement, Severance Pay, & Suspension Other/Miscellaneous Issues * Other, Posting Notices, References Unfavorable, & Waiver of ADEA fit out Rights RESOLUTIONS (nominal measurement) Merit * Settled with CP Bene? ts, Withdrawn with CP Bene? ts, Successful Conciliation, & Conciliation Failure Non-Merit No Cause Finding, Administrative close (RP Bankruptcy), Administrative cloture (CP Missing), Administrative Closure (CP NonResponsive), Administrative Closure (CP Uncooperative), Administrative Closure (Related Litigation), Administrative Clos ure (Failed Relief), Administrative Closure (Lacks Jurisdiction), & Administrative Closure (CP Withdraws) explored whether or not the characteristics associated with the ASD allegations differ signi? cantly from those of the characteristics associated with GENDIS. The third research objective of this study, predictive in nature, was to explore whether or not the ? al EEOC case resolutions for the ASD allegations could be predicted based upon a function of some of the contextual variables of interest associated with the ASD group. 5. 3. Analysis Data was analyzed to answer the stated research objectives in three primary ways, using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). First, descriptive statistics were used to detail the ASD and GENDIS allegations and unlike attributes thereof. Second, comparisons of the various characteristics of the ASD al- 304 T. A. Van Wieren / Workplace discrimination and autism spectrum disorders EEOC & ADA egations vs. the GENDIS allegations we re conducted utilizing fishers exact tests, odds ratios, and t-Tests for freelance groups. Third, in an effort to discern whether or not the ? nal resolutions for the ASD allegations could be predicted based upon a function of some of the contextual variables of interest associated with the ASD group, multiple logistic regression outline was used. 6. Findings 6. 1. Descriptive epitome Based upon the descriptive analysis put of this study (i. e. , Objective One), it could be said that the pro? le for a exemplary ASD case entails (a) a CP who s 36 years old, male and White (b) a RP in the Retail industry that is either on the large end of the size spectrum (i. e. , 501+ employees) or the smaller end of the spectrum (i. e. , 15100 employees) (c) origination of the allegation in the Southern region of the U. S. (d) an allegation that involves an issue of job conditions/ good deal or job maintenance/preservation and (d) a case resolution that is ruled by the EEOC as non-meritorious . See Table 2 for a more detailed account of the descriptive analysis portion of this study. 6. 2. Comparative analysis Relative to GENDIS, the median age for the ASD roup is younger (36 years vs. 44 years), and is statistically signi? cant (t-Test for independent groups, t = ? 8. 385, df = 86. 134, p = 0. 000). Allegations in the ASD group are over two times more likely to be made by males than were allegations in the GENDIS group (Fishers exact test, p = 0. 000, O. R. = 2. 30). ASD allegations are over seven and half times more likely than GENDIS to involve CPs who are Native American/Alaskan Native (Fishers exact test, p = 0. 001, O. R. = 7. 82). And, relative to GENDIS, allegations from the ASD group are two and a half times more likely to be made against RPs in the Retail industries Fishers exact test, p = 0. 000, O. R. , 2. 52). Statistical analyses revealed no signi? cant differences between the ASD group vs. GENDIS in regards to the regions where allegations originate from, the types of ADA Title I allegations ? led with the EEOC, or ultimate case resolutions decided upon by the EEOC. 6. 3. prophetic analysis Forward, stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis was utilized to establish the high hat set of variables predictive of merit vs. non-merit ASD case resolutions. The selection of the predictor variables in the ? nal model progressed via steps while the different ndependent predictor variables were inserted into or excluded from the model, in an attempt to realize the largest increase in R 2 . This campaign of action revealed that RP size, CP race (Native American/Alaskan Native), and RP industry (Service) contributed the most to the explanatory power of the model (? 2 = 33. 176, p = 0. 000, df = 3), explaining approximately 35. 4% to 48. 9% of the variance in the merit vs. non-merit resolution status of ASD cases (i. e. , coxswain & Snell R 2 = 0. 354, Nagelkerke R 2 = 0. 489). However, the ? nal number of cases (N ) included in this mode l decreased from 98 to 76, because of missing data in a couple of he models independent variables. Therefore, desiring to include as many of the ASD groups relatively small number of cases as possible in the ? nal model, another logistic regression analysis was completed. This new analysis made use of simultaneous portal of only the two statistically signi? cant predictor variables that had been found in the forward stepwise analysis (i. e. , RP size and CP industry Service). Thus, the new model (N = 86, ? 2 = 18. 553, p = 0. 000, df = 2) consists of only RP size and RP industry (Service), which serve as the independent predictor variables and explain approximately 19. % to 27. 5% of the variance in the merit vs. non-merit resolution status of the ASD cases (i. e. , Cox & Snell R 2 = 0. 194, Nagelkerke R 2 = 0. 275). This same process for determining the best predictor variables for a multiple logistic regression model, while attempting to avoid as many missing data cases as possib le, was recently utilized within the ? eld of Rehabilitation research 39. The results of the ? nal model are detailed in Table 3. It could be said that the odds of an ASD allegation resulting in a meritorious case resolution increase when (1) the allegation is made against a Service industryRP, and (2) as the size of the RP increases (i. e. , number of employees). It was found that ASD allegations that were made against RPs in the Service industry are approximately seven times more likely than all other industries (considered together) to experience merit resolutions (i. e. , Exp? = 7. 013). In conjunction with this, it was also found that for each one-unit increase in a RPs size (e. g. , moving from the 15100 employee category, to the 101-200 employee category, to the 201 T. A. Van Wieren / Workplace discrimination and autism spectrum disorders EEOC & ADA 305 Table 2Descriptive Analysis of ASD and GENDIS allegations ASD (F) CP AGE Age (mean years of age) (72) (26) GENDIS (F) 36 yea rs CP GENDER Male Female % % 44 years 73. 5% 26. 5% (95,282) (79,048) 54. 7% 45. 3% CP RACE White (60) 61. 9% (108,803) 63. 1% African American (14) 14. 4% (35,325) 20. 5% Hispanic/Mexican (11) 11. 3% (12,535) 7. 3% Other? (12) 12. 4% (15,718) 9. 1% ? Comprised of EEOC categories Asian, Native American/Alaskan Native, Mixed Ethnicity & Other Ethnicity RP INDUSTRY farming Construction Fin. , Ins. , Real Est. Manufacturing (16) 16. 8% Mining Public Admin. (8) 8. 2% Retail (22) 23. 2% Services (18) 18. 9% Trans. & Util. (10) 10. 5% Wholesale Not Classi? ed (18) 18. 9% Industries with less than 5 ASD charges are not reported (32,539) 19. 2% (16,051) (18,129) (49,525) (15,741) 9. 5% 10. 7% 29. 2% 9. 3% (21,472) 12. 7% RP SIZE 15100 employees 101200 employees 201500 employees 501 + employees U. S. REGION Northeast Midwest South West U. S. Territory Foreign (33) (13) (9) (34) 37. 1% 14. 6% 10. 1% 38. 2% (56,161) (20,708) (18,507) (72,297) 33. 5% 12. 4% 11. 0% 43 . 1% (7) (24) (47) (20) (0) (0) 7. % 24. 5% 48. 0% 20. 4% 0% 0% (18,667) (52,014) (70,404) (32,782) (641) (4) 10. 7% 29. 8% 40. 3% 18. 8% 0. 4% 0% ALLEGATIONS Job Obtainment or Membership Job Conditions or Circumstances Job Maintenance or Preservation Other/Miscellaneous (6) (47) (41) (4) 6. 1% 48. 0% 41. 8% 4. 1% (12,047) (90,162) (68,569) (3,734) 6. 9% 51. 7% 39. 3% 2. 1% RESOLUTIONS Merit Non-Merit (29) (69) 29. 6% 70. 4% (38,385) (136,127) 22% 78. 0% 500 employee category, to the 501+ employee category, etc. ) the odds of an ASD allegation being resolved with merit increase by over one and a half times (Exp? = 1. 836). 7. Discussion 7. 1. learning efforts by the EEOC The EEOC distributes training materials to employees and individuals with disabilities concerning ADA Title I issues. Efforts should be focused on educating Retail and Service industry and larger employers in particular concerning the characteristics of and the unique work-related issues of individuals with A SDs. Furthermore, in attempting to educate individuals with disabilities concerning their rights and options to ? le discrimination allegations, the EEOC should consider including focus on individuals with ASDs in a special ense, given that many of these individuals may not be aware of how to recognize discrimination and/or how to take advantage of the EEOCs resolution services 306 T. A. Van Wieren / Workplace discrimination and autism spectrum disorders EEOC & ADA Table 3 Final model for logistic regression analysis of ASD Merit vs. Non-Merit resolutions Predictor ? SE df Wald RP Industry 1. 948 0. 627 9. 665 (Service vs. all others) Responding Party Size 0. 608 0. 218 7. 802 (i. e. , of employees) Constant ?2. 942 0. 731 16. 195 Model compend N = 86 df = 2 ?2 = 18. 553 p = 0. 000 R2 = 0. 94 (Cox & Snell), 0. 275 (Nagelkerke) ? Signi? cant p Exp(? ) 1 0. 002? 7. 013 95% C. I. for Exp(? ) 1. 39735. 219 1 0. 005? 1. 836 1. 0483. 216 1 0. 000 0. 053 at . 01 level (as peradventure evidenced in the super low number of ASD allegations received by the EEOC to date). 7. 2. Training of ASD support personnel It would be important for personnel who support the vocational efforts of individuals with ASDs (e. g. , rehabilitation counselors, supported employment specialists, etc. ) to understand the unique trends of ASD allegations of ADA Title I discrimination. Compared o many other disability groups, ASD allegations are more likely to be made by younger individuals and by males. Employers that perhaps require a special degree of attention when considering ASD vocational issues would include Retail and Service industry employers and larger employers. Rehabilitation professionals also need to know that relatively few ADA Title I allegations are made to the EEOC by people with ASDs, compared to other disability groups, which may possibly mean that individuals with ASDs are peculiarly at risk for not advocating for themselves against employment discrimination.Supporti ve personnel need to understand that a systems/ecological approach is especially needed in assisting individuals with ASDs to obtain and maintain integrated employment in the competitive, private-sector workplace. The supported employment and positive behavioral support models may be particularly priceless here in assisting individuals with ASDs and their work environments to undefeatedly adapt to each other. After all, it is known that individuals with ASDs can get hold of employment success and can be highly regarded by their employers if they receive the appropriate vocational supports 18,22,24.Such vocational supports should include sophisticated and independentlytailored assessment (of both the individual and potential work environments), placement, training, and ongoing support. Based upon the extremely low number of ASD allegations made to the EEOC, it might also appear that a major focus in working with individuals with ASDs would be to assist in increasing their self-adv ocacy skills. Employers engaged with individuals with ASDs (especially those in the Retail and Service industries and larger employers) also require sophisticated and independently-tailored assistance.Efforts directed towards employers should focus, in particular, on attempting to understand and articulate the workplaces normative behavioral and communicative standards educating the employer to understand how individuals with ASDs may have a dif? cult time conflux these normative standards helping employers to develop positive frames of reference concerning their employees with ASDs, and assisting employers to develop effective, appropriate, and non-discriminatory responses towards their employees with ASDs. 7. 3. Transition planning to adult working age Individuals with ASDs who ? le allegations of ADATitle I discrimination are more likely to be younger, compared to members of many other disability groups. As discussed previously, this may have something to do with ASDs being life long developmental disabilities. Thus, individuals with ASDs enter (and/or attempt to enter) into the adult workforce from day-one with their disability. This is different from some other disabilities that may not be acquired by an individual until later in life or after they have been engaged in the workplace for a length of time. Therefore, long-term transition planning for children and/or young adults with ASDs hould include the consideration of avenues by which such individuals can obtain introductory work experience (such as part-time jobs, internship/practicum-style experiences, etc. ) front to the point that they will be expected to move permanently into the adult workforce. T. A. Van Wieren / Workplace discrimination and autism spectrum disorders EEOC & ADA Because individuals with ASDs struggle with social perception/interaction and behavior in particular, they may bene? t especially from guided practice and experiences in learning how to appropriately and effectively perc eive and respond within work environments. 10 11 12 . Conclusion 13 This study revealed unique issues for ASD allegations of ADA Title I discrimination. As a result of this new understanding, some implications and suggestions were offered, aimed at assisting both individuals with ASDs and their work environments to adapt to each other, so as to prevent issues of discrimination. Perhaps one of the most important and obvious issues noted in this study is the extremely low number of ASD allegations received to date by the EEOC. 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