Independent Living and Employment Options

Unemployment, underemployment, and difficulties in maintaining employment are the main challenges for autistic adults of both sexes/genders, with a lower rate of employment for women. The female vocational profile appears to differ from the male ones, being mainly characterized by an impairment of self-perception in the social domain. This leads to significant consequences on self-efficacy, social skills, and stress management. Thus, interventions focused on social skills and work-related social skills could be helpful for autistic women, together with the implementation of additional strategies to enhance talents and promote social inclusion by the work organizations and co-workers recognize. This chapter addresses main concerns and implications regarding independent living and employment options for autistic adults, trying to delineate specific sex/gender differences.