You're Hired!: Practical Strategies for Guiding Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Competitive Employment

This is a guidebook to support practitioners who prepare young adults with ASD for competitive employment. Anchored in best practices, this teacher-friendly resource provides detailed "how-to's" on supporting individuals with ASD from their initial employment exploration through navigating the challenges of the first job.

Patricia S. Arter is a professor of special education and the Department Chairperson of Counseling, Leadership and Educational Studies at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Special Education. Dr. Arter's main areas of research are creating access for marginalized special needs populations through inclusion, behavior management, vocational training, social skills training, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Specifically, she has over a decade of experience working with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the areas of vocational training, social skills training, emotional regulation training and use of Virtual Reality (VR) to improve interview training skills. Before moving to Winthrop University, she founded and directed (2007-2019) the SOAR program (Students On-Campus Achieving Results), an on-campus program for individuals with ASD to secure competitive employment. Dr. Arter has more than 20 peer-reviewed publications and national and international presentations in her research areas. In addition, she has been awarded over $300,000 in grants funding work with individuals with ASD. Prior to her career in higher education, Dr. Arter was an elementary and middle school teacher in inclusive classrooms for more than 15 years.

Tammy B. H. Brown is a professor in the School of Education at Marywood University. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Education and serves as director of the Students On-Campus Achieving Results (SOAR) program, a campus-based program to help individuals with ASD to secure competitive employment. She has published numerous practitioner-focused articles in state and national journals, including a recent article in Teaching Exceptional Children on the use of Virtual Reality (VR) to prepare individuals with ASD for job interviews. She has also presented at nearly 50 peer-reviewed conferences. She is a member of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the International Literacy Association (ILA), the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE), the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She is also a member of the Keystone State Literacy Association (KSLA), where she has served on the journal's editorial board.

Jennifer Barna, PhD, NCC, ACS, is an Associate Professor and Director of the school counseling program at Marywood University. She holds PK-12 school counseling certification with an autism endorsement. Dr. Barna is a Past President of both the Pennsylvania Counseling Association and the Pennsylvania Association of Counselor Educators and Supervisors. Her work with students on the autism spectrum includes several presentations on preparing students with ASD for the transition to college and supporting the social emotional development of students. She has also presented on how school counselors can support families who parent a child with ASD. Her most recent publications focus on helping students with ASD gain essential employability skills and making a successful transition to college. Dr. Barna is an advisory board member of the Students on Campus Achieving Results (SOAR) program at Marywood University.