A study funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).
Intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are lifelong disabilities that can impact a person’s mobility, problem solving skills, and social skills. Previous research has shown that engaging in employment can help adults with IDD experience a better quality of life, increased independence, and improved social skills. In competitive integrated employment, people with and without disabilities work together and earn the same wage for completing the same work. Through customized employment (CE), youth with IDD can work with employment specialists to find competitive integrated employment that best suits their needs and interests. CE has shown promise in leading to competitive integrated employment for people with IDD. However, more research is needed to better understand its impact.
In a recent NIDILRR-funded study, researchers wanted to see what impact CE services might have in helping youth with IDD to obtain competitive integrated employment. The researchers also wanted to see if there was a difference in the hourly wages earned and the weekly hours worked for youth with IDD receiving CE services compared to those who did not receive CE services.
Researchers studying Effects of Customized Employment on the Employment Outcomes of Transition-Age Youth with Disabilities enrolled 46 youths with IDD in a study of a CE intervention. Participants were between 18-24 years old and were unemployed at the start of the study. At the beginning of the study, a little less than half of the participants were placed in the CE group, and the remainder were placed in the control group. Participants in the CE group received a three-phase intervention. In the first phase, employment specialists conducted interviews with the participants and family members about the participants’ interests, skills, and vocational preferences. In the second phase, the information was used to create a customized job description. Employment specialists also interviewed business owners and hiring managers about their staffing needs to see if they potentially matched participants’ preferences. In the third phase, employment specialists provided continued support once participants obtained employment. Participants in the control group received their usual services offered in their school or day programs. At the end of one year of participating in the control group, participants who wanted a chance to switch to the CE group were given an opportunity to switch. By the end of the study, a total of 29 youth with IDD had received CE intervention.
Over half the participants were male and the primary disability was autism spectrum disorder. Nearly all participants had previously participated in some work experience through school programs. When the researchers looked at results for both groups, they found that -
- 62% of participants in the CE group found competitive integrated employment, compared with 16.67% in the control group.
- Participants in both groups who obtained competitive integrated employment had similar hourly pay. The wage range for the CE group was $7.25 (minimum wage) to $17.50 per hour, with an average hourly wage of $9.44. The wage range for the control group was $7.55 to $10.55, with an average hourly wage of $9.35.
- Participants in the CE group who had competitive integrated employment worked fewer hours per week than those in the control group. Hours per week for the CE group ranged from 4 to 20 hours, with an average of 8.88 hours worked. Hours for the control group ranged from 12 to 27 hours with an average of 19.7 hours worked.
According to the authors, the use of CE services significantly increased the chances of successful competitive integrated employment outcomes among the young adults with IDD who participated in the study. Despite gaining employment, hourly wages and hours worked for both groups still fell below the poverty level, with notably fewer hours worked for those in the CE group. The low wages might be due to many participants being in their first job. However, this initial job could serve as a steppingstone to future employment with higher wages. Fewer hours worked in the CE group may be related to the CE approach of negotiating a job that, in this particular study, ended up with just one or two tasks that matched the jobseeker’s interests. If a job consists of a few tasks that can be done in a few hours, it could impact how much they work and how much they earn. Finally, the authors noted that more than half of the participants were still enrolled in school, which could have reduced the number of hours they were available to work.
This was the first study to test CE with transition-age youth and young adults in a randomized controlled trial, according to the authors. These findings provide evidence to support previous research findings that rehabilitation professionals see CE as a strategy to help youth with IDD on the path to employment. Employment specialists may want to learn more about best practices for implementing CE in their community.
Further, CE may also help young adults with IDD succeed in other areas. In a related study based on the same randomized controlled trial, the researchers found that participants in the CE group had greater independence and fewer support needs, compared to those in the control group. The authors suggested that CE services may have a therapeutic impact on personal growth and skill development, in addition to supporting employment success. Researchers may want to study the long-term effects of CE on employment and independence for transition-age adults with IDD.
To learn more:
The Virginia Commonwealth University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center conducts research and development in customized employment and other innovative solutions to employment for people with IDD and other disabilities. Explore their collection of research-based resources on customized employment including the Supported and Customized Employment: Side by Side Referral Decision Guide.
The Office of Disability Employment Policy at the Department of Labor includes Customized Employment as one of its program areas, supporting CE through education, outreach, and collaborations that promote the benefits of using CE as a workplace flexibility policy. Visit their website to learn about the discovery process in CE and how CE has been implemented in a variety of communities.
To learn more about this study:
Inge, K.J., Wehman, P., Avellone, L., Broda, M., McDonough, J. (2024) The impact of customized employment on the competitive integrated employment outcomes of transition age youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A randomized controlled trial study. Work. 77; 721-729. This article is available from the NARIC collection under Accession Number J93916.
Inge, K.J., Avellone, L., Wehman, P., Broda, M., Joy, J. (2023) Effects of customized employment on the independence of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Intellect and Developmental Disabilities 61(6); 481-491. This article is available from the NARIC collection under Accession Number J93786.