ADVANCING EMPLOYABLE SKILLS FOR STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: A SURVEY STUDY A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctorate of Education In Educational Leadership By Aisha Thomas Summer 2016 SIGNATURE PAGE DISSERTATION: ADVANCING EMPLOYABLE SKILLS FOR STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: A SURVEY STUDY AUTHOR: Aisha Thomas DATE SUBMITTED: Summer 2016 Department of Education Dr. Amy Gimino ______________________________________________________ Dissertation Committee Chair Department of Education Dr. Heather E. Wizikowski______________________________________________ Assistant Professor Department of Education Dr. Mark Sims_______________________________________________________ Principal Duarte High School Duarte Unified School District ii DEDICATION I dedicate my dissertation work to my understanding parents, Maggie and Julius Thomas, for taking care of me physically and mentally during the doctoral program at Cal Poly Pomona. They never doubted my efforts and tenacious attitude toward the dissertation process. My former students have encouraged me throughout the doctoral program. Listening to their stories of struggle and success has urged me to fight harder for students with special needs in my district and beyond. To my Northview family: Mr. Eric Ramos, Ms. Miriam Fox, Mr. Rick Crosby, Dr. Allan Mucerino, Dr. Mark Sims, Dr. John Opara, and Ms. Teresa George for making my pursuit of a doctoral degree attainable. Lastly, I dedicate this dissertation to the following families: the Walkers, the Reevers and the Prodigalyidads for inspiring me to advocate for students with autism. The fight will not end with this study. Your children will continue to motivate me to assist other students with developmental disorders to become productive adults who will contribute to society. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to sincerely thank Dr. Amy Gimino for her diligence, guidance, and patience during the final year of my doctoral program and the dissertation process. She encouraged me to look deeper into my topic of study to discover information that gave my study more depth and organization. I would also like to formally thank Dr. Heather E. Wizikowski for her extensive knowledge on special education policies and individuals with developmental disorders. Her understanding of my topic has propelled me to investigate other avenues to assist individuals with autism spectrum disorders as they transition into adulthood. Finally, my sincere gratitude goes to Dr. Nancy Sanders for her broad knowledge of educational policies. My time in the doctoral program at Cal Poly Pomona would be less memorable without Dr. Sanders’ sense of humor and the passion she shows towards assisting doctoral students in her care. iv ABSTRACT This study explored how a school district prepares students with Autism Spectrum Disorder for future employment opportunities. The research questions asked how educators develop the social and communication skills of students with ASD and explored staff members’ knowledge about supports and resources concerning supports and resources available to assist this population of students and the outcomes for students with ASD after they leave the high school environment. Seventy three participants, including, general education instructors, specialized academic instructors, school psychologists, occupational therapists, counselors, paraprofessionals, school site office staff, administrators, a speech pathologist, and a representative from the school district, responded to a survey. Results indicated that staff members utilized interventions and strategies such as direct instruction, modeling, redirection, special education programs (IEPs), and group work to prepare students for social and communication skills, they were aware of supports and resources to assist students with ASD, and they were also aware of the outcomes for individuals with ASD once they leave the secondary learning environment. The majority of participants from the three educational settings responded that schools did not adequately prepare students with ASD for competitive employment, and respondents felt they did not have sufficient knowledge to assist students with ASD to obtain employable goals. Implications, limitations and directions for further research were discussed. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page ……………………………..………………………….………………….ii Dedication ……………...………………………………...……………………………....iii Acknowledgements ………………...…………………...…….…………….………...….iv Abstract …………………………………………………..…….…………………..……..v List of Tables …………………………………………..………….………...…………..xii List of Figures ………………………………………….....…….…………………….....xv Chapter 1: Introduction ……………………………….………..…………………………1 Background of the Problem …….......…………….…………………………...….1 Comorbidity …………………..…...………………………….…………..2 History of Special Education Policies …………………........…………….4 The Rehabilitation Act ……………………………………………5 Individuals with Disabilities Act …………………...…………….5 Funding autism research ………………………………..………...5 Federal and State Laws Regarding Employment for Individuals with Disabilities …………………………………………….…………….7 Employment First policy …………………………….…............... 8 Autism, collaboration, accountability, research Education Support Act 2014……………………………...…………………..9 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) ……….…...9 Employing Individuals with Developmental Delays …………....10 Supported employment ……………….……............……10 School Settings ……...……………………………………………..…....11 vi Secondary Learning Environments…………………………….………...12 Transitional Services ……………………………...…………..…12 Postsecondary Environments….. ………………………………..………………13 Problem Statement ………………………………………………………………..……..14 Cost Related to Autism ………………………………………...………………..16 Adults living with autism ……………………………….……………….17 Caregivers ………..……………………………………………………...19 Purpose of Study …………………………...………………….………………………..21 Research Questions …………………………………………….……………………….22 Significance of Study ………………………………………….………..........................22 Definition of Terms ………………………………………….………………………....23 Assumptions ………………………….………………………………………….……24 Summary ………………………….…………………………………………………….24 Chapter 2: Literature Review ………………………………………….………….…….26 Theoretical Framework …………………….……………………………….…..26 Social Justice and Education in Public Schools ……………………...…26 Organizational Theory ………………………………………………......27 Critical Social Theory and Education ………….………………………..28 General education setting ……………………..………….…......29 Common Core State Standards and Autism ……...……………………..31 Employable Skills …………………………...………………………………..…32 Expectations from Employers …………………………………………...32 Job Interviews …………………………………………………...32 vii Effective Employment Communication ………………….……..33 Other Attributes Expected from Employers …………………….34 Individuals with Autism Obtaining and Maintaining Employment ……..34 Communication and Social Skills Deficits …………………………………..….35 Social Communication …..………………………………………..……..36 Expressive Language …………………………………………………....36 Tone ……………………..………………………………………37 Idioms ………………………..…………………………...…..…39 Interpersonal Skills …………………………………………………..….39 Social reciprocity………………………….………..................…40 Social cues…………..…………..................................….41 Working with peers ……………………………….…………......42 Engagement through social media …………………….……...…42 Flexibility and adaptability .…………………………….…....….43 Advancing Employable Skills for Students with Autism …………………….…43 Interventions …………………………………………………………….43 Professional Learning Communities ………………….…………44 Internal Supports and Resources……………………………….……...…46 Support teams ………………………………….…………….…..46 Curriculum and instruction ………………………………...……47 Social capital building …………………………………..………48 Video modeling ……………………………….………………...50 Demonstrating model behavior……………………….…….…...51 viii External Supports and Resources …………………………...….….……52 Apprenticeship programs ………………………………….……52 Vocational rehabilitation ………………………….……….…....53 Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs)………………………………….…......54 IEP Goal Writing ………………….………………..……………….......54 Transitional IEP Goal Writing……………………………….…………..55 Participation During Transition Meetings…………………….…..……..57 Summary …………..…………………………………………………….………58 Chapter 3: Methodology ……………………………………………….………………..60 Research Methods ………………..…………………………..………………….60 Survey Design ……………………………………….…………….…….61 Research Setting ……………………………………………..……………….….61 Community of Selected School District ……………….………………..61 Selected School District ………………………………….……..……….63 Supporting Students at Mountain Valley School District …….…67 Mission and Vision of Mountain Valley School District…………....…...69 Participants ………………………………………………………….…………...70 Description of Participants ………………………………….………...…71 Consent Form and Survey ………………………………………...……………..75 Construction of Survey ………………………………………………….76 Data Collection ………………………………………………………………….78 Data Collection Procedures …………………………………….………..78 Data Analysis Procedures …………………………………………….…………79 ix Quantitative Analysis of Survey Data ………………….………………..79 Qualitative Analysis of Survey Data …………………………….………80 Trustworthiness ………………………………………………………….………81 Summary ………………………………………………………………….……..82 Chapter 4: Research Findings ………………………………………………….………..83 Research Question One …………………………………………………….……87 Responses to Social Skill Statement and Items ………………………..104 Analysis of Research Question Two …………………………………………...120 Analysis of Research Question Three ………………………………………….126 Education ………………………………………………………...….…126