BCEC Report

Autism in the Workplace

Maximising the potential of employees on the autism spectrum
Report SeriesFeature
AuthorsDelia Hendrie, Marita Falkmer, Torbjorn Falkmer, Andrew Jacob, Richard Parsons, Melissa Scott
PublishedApril 2016
PublisherBankwest Curtin Economics Centre

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong condition that represents a category of developmental disorders characterised by impairments in social reciprocity, communication and unusual or repetitive behaviour. In Australia there are approximately 157,000 adults with ASD within the working age population of 15 to 64 year olds.

This project on employing adults with ASD was motivated by a lack of research on employer benefits and costs of employing people with disabilities. These research findings highlight the potential benefits of workers with one type of disability, namely ASD. As well as providing new and important evidence on the particular circumstances and issues faced by employees with ASD and their employers, the methodology developed in this project can be extended to other disability groups.