Clinical Program

Formulation
WORKTOPIA: Employment Works

Origin of Project Name:

def.

WORKTOPIA [wurk-toh-pee-uh], noun

1. an experiential naming convention combining the words

work and utopia. 2. Utopia is defined as an ideal place or
state. 3. any visionary system of political or social
perfection. 4. the word was coined in a book in 1516 by
Sir Thomas More that describes an imaginary ideal
society free of poverty and suffering. 5. the word was
derived from Greek; ou "not" + topos "place". 6. this was
extended to "any perfect place," during the 1610's.

Identifying Information

EmploymentWorks was created in 2015.

The programs home is currently at the Sinneave

Foundation, at the Ability Hub, within the Child
Development Center in Calgary, AB.

Two, 2-1/2 hour sessions, on Tuesdays/Wednesdays; one at

The Ability Hub, one in the Community at locations like
GoodWill, Flames, Saddledome, Linwood Roofing, Boston
Pizza.

EmploymentWorks is an evidence-informed 12-week

program that offers employment preparedness training and
support, as well as substantial experiential communitybased job sampling and work experience, for individuals
who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder
(ASD).

It specifically serves youth and young adults that range in

age from 15 to 29 years, who have not previously worked,
but who aspire to reach a level of sustainable employment.

Identifying Information

Structured and naturalistic learning: skill learning and

job sampling

Relational authenticity

Core skill advancement plus individual employment fit

Skill building via content and application (trial,

repetition and practice)

Peer mentorship and video modelling

Comprehensiveness balanced by interventional brevity

for (i) wide population access and (ii) evaluation of
minimum dosage requirement (efficiency)

Adaptability to employment venues, industry verticals &

community contexts

Presenting Problem: Unemployment

Limited employment opportunities and vocational

resources supporting adults with Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD).

Gaps in services appear to leave individuals with ASD

isolated and inadequately equipped to find stable work.

Individuals with ASD as well as their families and service

providers describe a lack of employment opportunities
and insufficient support for persons with ASD.

A general lack of evidence and models for vocational

support limit understanding about how adults with ASD
navigate these processes. Unemployment rates among
persons with ASD remain unacceptably high, with
employment rates ranging from reports of 10 to 50%.

Individuals with ASD experience difficulty both finding

and maintaining stable employment (Nicholas, Roberts,
& Macintosh, 2014).

These challenges warrant the development of

interventions for improved vocational outcomes.

Background Information

Created in 2015 by David Nicholas, Margaret Clarke, and Wendy

Mitchell.

Siblings with the CommunityWorks Program (High School aged

participants; ages 15-21; peer mentorship program; non-profit
partners; vocational and social skill development) and SchoolWorks
(School-based stream in partnership with Autism Nova Scotia; Students
ages 15-21 enrolled in Grade 10, 11 and 12; Peer mentorship).

Started first cohort of 8 students in Oct-Dec, 2015; currently in the

second cohort of 8 students; the program also operates in Whitby, ON
simultaneously.

The Worktopia programs will be offered in five (5) regions across

Canada as follows: Pacific, Prairies, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic.

ASD refers to a complex neurodevelopmental disorder, often marked by

impaired communication and socialization, as well as by a limited
range of interests. Characteristic elements of impaired social
reciprocity, behavioural challenges, and potential rigidities may create
difficulties for individuals looking for work or trying to keep a job.

Intake Process

General Inquiry regarding program:

o Pre-screening with interested participants ensuring eligibility criteria met

Phone Screen

Application Form Completed by Participant

Intake Meeting:
o
o
o
o

Commitment to the program dates

Consents/Waivers (program and research)
Intake interview form
Baseline assessments:
Participant assessments and questionnaires
Parent/guardian questionnaires

Eligibility Criteria:

Those with a diagnosis of ASD that are 15 29 years of age

Not in high school

No current history of behavioural concerns (e.g. elopement, self-injury or aggression to others)

Independent toileting skills

Currently unemployed (i.e. not working more than 20 hours/week and not collecting
unemployment insurance)

Has a Social Insurance Number.

Assessments
Baseline
Cognitive
o

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test -4 (PPVT-4)

Social
o

Skills
Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ)

Adaptive
o

Brief individually administered measure of single word receptive vocabulary

Quick, easy evaluation completed by Parent/Informant that screens for ASD-Current

Behaviour

Waisman Activities of Daily Living (W-ADL) Parent/Informant

completes

17 item checklist that evaluates independence in activities of daily living

Demographic/History
14

assessments before and during the process.

Data Collection /Assessments

Timing

Outcome Area

Participant/Parent

Demographic Information

Intake & 3 month post

Demographic

Participant

Social Communication Questionnaire-2

Pre/post

Diagnostic Confirmation

Parent

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 4 (PPVT-4)

Baseline

Cognitive

Participant

Waisman Activities of Daily Living

Baseline

Adaptive

Parent

Job Bank Canada: Employability Skills 2000+

Pre/post

Employment Readiness

Participant

Modified Ansel Casey Life Skills Assessment

Pre/post

Employment Readiness

Participant &/ Parent

Work Readiness Inventory

Pre/post

Employment Readiness

Participant

Canadian Occupational Performance Measure

Pre/post

Employment Goals

Participant & Parent

Employment Readiness Checklist

Intermittent - Week 2, 5, 12

Employment Goals

Participant & Staff

Social Skills Improvement System

Pre/post

ASD/ Social/Behavior

Participant & Parent

Social Responsiveness System -2

Pre/post

ASD/ Social/ Behavior

Participant &/Parent

Brief Symptom Inventory

Pre/post

Well-being

Participant

World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index

Pre/post

Well-Being

Participant

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

Pre/post

Well-Being

Participant

Satisfaction Survey

Post

Program Evaluation

Participant & Parent

Qualitative Interviews

Post

Program Evaluation

Participant & Parent

Employment Goals

Canadian Occupational Performance Measure

o

An individualized measure designed to detect change in

occupational performance in the areas of preemployment/employment and social communication skills

Parent/Informant or participant completes in conjunction with

program coordinator who facilitates collaborative goal setting

Rate performance on scale from 1 10

(1 = not able to perform task to 10 = able to complete
task well)

Rate satisfaction on scale from 1 10

(1 = not satisfied to 10 = extremely satisfied)

Employment Readiness

Employment Readiness Checklist : 10

domains

Occur during week 2, 5 and 12

Facilitators will complete the Employment

Readiness Checklist on the participants and
peers

Peers and participants will also complete the

checklist as a self-report measure

Community Partners

Pre / Post Data Collection

o

Autism Awareness Questionnaire

Final Evaluation
o

Satisfaction Survey

Select participants will be involved in

qualitative interviews

Program Presentation

Delivered in 24 twice weekly sessions over 12 weeks (60

hours)

Weekly schedule

Initial session: structured yet tailored content with

employment and social skill building aims

Second session: review of the learned concepts, follow-up of

homework, application in live employment contexts

Incremental and mutually reinforcing components are

integrated in the curriculum.

Three major themes:

Knowing Myself as a Working Person,

Engaging in the Culture of Employment

Building My Skills for Employment.

Program Presentation
Orientation
1.Finding our way: Colleagues on a path together
Theme: Knowing Myself as a Working Person
2.What are my employment strengths and interests?
3.Getting started: Working on my plan of action
4.Considering the importance of work in my life
Theme: Engaging in the Culture of Employment
5.Viewing employment from the employers perspective: What does
the boss want?
6. Identifying challenges and ways to overcome them
7. Realizing the hard work but finding a way forward
8. Minimizing stress and anxiety in the workplace: Its hard, but we
can make it!
Theme: Building My Skills for Employment
9. Networking in the workplace: Talk that counts
10. Networking in the workplace: Talk that counts (continued)
11. Thinking about what others are thinking
12. Maintaining a healthy self within the community: Working,
growing and thriving

Program Strengths

Peer Mentorship: allows for a range of viable models

and types of peer mentorship (e.g. co-workers,
graduate students); the context may decide who makes
most sense within a given workplace and the formative
mentor/mentee relationship

Humility. Admits that this intervention can only

contribute to desired change; not resolve the
complexities of ASD relative to the depth of workplace
challenges. Employment support is only one component
of many elements fostering vocational achievement and
QoL.

Strengths-based: Person/family centered focused on

adult learning

Skill building via content and application (trial,

repetition and practice)

Video modelling

Adaptability to employment venues, industry verticals &

community contexts

Temperament

Within the structured learning and community workplacement contexts, the program appears easy-going or
relaxed, engaging, supportive/welcoming, flexible,
helpful, highly active, sensitive to the needs of others.

Rearing/Formative Experiences

A Guide for New Job Seekers for Youth and Newcomers to the Workplace (2007 Government
of Alberta)

Employability Skills Toolkit for Employability Success (2000 The Conference Board of
Canada)

Getting There: A Curriculum for People Moving into Employment (1996 Colette, Woliver,
Bingham & Merrifield)

Job Smart (2003 Government of Alberta)

Let's Talk (2007 Government of Alberta)

Life Skills Activities for Secondary Students with Special Needs (2009 Mannix)

Positive Works II (2004 Government of Alberta)

Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success (United States Department
of Labor)

The Soft Skills Solutions Series of Booklets (2015 Cross & Lanaghen)

The Interview Skills Curriculum (2014 Morgan, Leatzow, Clark & Stiller)

Workability (2007 Government of Alberta)

Nicholas, D., Roberts, W., & Macintosh, C. (2014). Invited submission: Advancing vocational
opportunities for adults with autism spectrum disorder: Proceedings from the 1st annual
Canadian ASD vocational conference. Currents, 13(1) Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1667324743?
accountid=9838.

Rearing/Formative
Experiences

The Worktopia Project (the Project) is currently comprised of three (3) distinct program streams
designed to improve employment readiness and enhance the employment skills of individuals ages 15-29
with a diagnosis of ASD. A brief description of each Worktopia program is provided below:

CommunityWorks Canada is based on an evidence-informed program model developed at the

Southwest Autism Research & Resource Centre (SARRC) in Phoenix, AZ. It is a peer supported after
school pre-employment program for youth and young adults with ASD ages 15-21 who are still attending
high school. Participants in this program will have the opportunity to develop social skills, acquire
community service experience and prepare for future employment. A link to the program website can be
accessed by going to http://www.workwithuscanada.ca/.

EmploymentWorks Canada is a newly developed evidence-informed program to support and advance

young adults with ASD ages 15-29 who are out of high school toward sustained employment. It is a peer
supported program that uses adult learning principals such as reflective practice, life-long learning,
skills acquisition in situ, and community engagement and integration to focus on developing the
essential skills of participants in a group-setting and via workplace experiences in the community.

SchoolWorks Canada is a school-based program that offers peer supported social, communication and
vocational skills development to youth with ASD ages 15-21 who are currently attending high school. The
program is designed to help prepare participants for the transition to adulthood and future employment.

Developmental Stage/Task

Both in the Pilot and Program Evaluation Stage.

The program appears to provide a positive experience for participants;

however measures of actual skills gained, growth, employment are hard
to determine at this point in time.

Several staff report that the program is consuming much of the

organizations energy; the program is putting a great deal of pressure on
and constraining the time/development of other programs in the Ability
Hub (i.e. The Launch Program).

Inefficient. One facilitator commented that the program is akin to a

giant factory that requires huge energetic input and produces a tiny jelly
bean. That is, the inputs do not match the outputs.

Internal/External Influences

External:

Family expectations for successful employment at the end of the program.

Federal Government Expectations-Expected Outcomes:

A minimum of 420 participants will be served during the

program

Participant Outcomes (all programs):

88% enhanced employability (evaluated using Employment

Readiness Checklist and percent who complete program)

25% secure employment

5% return to school

Internal: Participant Expectations

Meet and socialize with new people

Experience different employment tasks

Achieve learning and growth

Receive a certificate of program completion

Develop an employment portfolio

Employment

Financial/Time Factors

As part of the Government of

Canadas Economic Action
Plan 2014, the Sinneave
Family Foundation and
Autism Speaks Canada were
provided with $11.4 million
over 4 years to set-up,
implement and evaluate a
network of vocational training
programs in five regions
across Canada.

Sinneave Family Foundation:

Enable, Evaluate, Export
(matched the $11.4 million).

Medical/Psycholgical/Cogntiv
e Factors

ASD diagnosis is required to participate in the program;

the program must work with and adapt to individuals
who have various co-morbidities or dual diagnoses (bipolar; GAD; ADHD; intellectual disability; immune
disorders;
OCD;
sensory
processing
disorders;
depression; sleep disorders).

Clinical Impressions

In response to the presenting problem of unemployment, the author is uncertain as to programs

current ability to overcome or remedy this without further evaluation, consultation, and
consideration of interventions. Namely, assessment measures, program content, and program
activities may fail to adequately capture the lived and embodied experience of individuals with ASD
and may not address the complex social, financial, psychological, and medical factors that affect
an individuals participation within the program. The program may perpetuate the unjust and
problematic able-bodied norms that individuals with ASD have struggled with for much of their life
and which have contributed to current unemployment.

The program places much of the onus on the individual to adapt, change, and comply to the various
workplace requirements and environments; little assessment, training, or accommodation is
expected by community partners. Critical disability theory, argues that if we adopt an individualist
and essentializing conception of disability, the primary responsibility lies with(in) the person with
the disability. If, however, we understand disability as a socially constructed barrier, then . . .
responsibility and accountability shifts to the larger community (Pothier & Devlin, 2006, p. 12).

Normative measures and baselines for employment readiness and productivity assessment. Adapting
neuro-typical tests to individuals with ASD; requires that the individuals fit into checkmarks and
boxes, and yet fails to consider context specific variables (loud noises at the worksite for an
individual who has sensory processing difficulties).

The immense financial pressure and timeline expectations from external sources appears to strain
the programs most optimal development and growth; and therefore, the most ethical and just
experience for participants in the program (further messaging and perpetuation of constructed
norms for the ideal worker, which fails to consider individual, lived experience).

The programs taxing requirements from the organization hinders the growth and development of
other programs (Launch Program, which focuses on holistic transition planning through five
domains).

The program places great importance on both the variability of the Peer-Mentor relationship and
the adaptability of the program to various geographical and community contexts; however, the
program fails to identify the diverse religious, ethnic, linguistic, gender, sexuality, class, racial
factors that participants may experience. The writer has articulated the largely white,
heteronormative, and male demographic of the first cohort and thus questioned the programs
consideration of inclusive transferability to diverse contexts.

Treatment Plan

Program coordinators need to ensure that participants and their families have up-to-date listings of
local and appropriate resources and supports in their regionbeyond the program.

To help address some of the complex medical and psychological factors that influence a participants
participation in the program, the writer suggests that more formal and consistent clinical support is
provided to the participants. Thus, weekly clinical appointments throughout the 12 weeks could offer
more insight into individual needs and issues, and better provide specific support for these needs.

The writer suggests that because the program is in a very early developmental state, it is critical to
engage in continual assessment, and evaluation, and adjust intervention strategies as necessary.

The writer has emphasized to the program creators, clinicians, and facilitators that this specific
measure poses ethical implications on the participants personhood, and renders the program
trajectory as potentially harmful to those who are involved in it (further perpetuating the vectors of
normative control that have disempowered participants).

The writer has suggested to program creators that more substantial assessment, training, and
evaluation is required to support community capacity building, so as to remove the burden of capacity
building solely from the individual (even out the scales of individual and community efforts).

From a theoretical standpoint, the writer suggests that program creators not abandon the discourses
of achievement, employability, and growth but decentre them as to create space for more contextspecific experiences and outcomes (i.e. discussing more holistic reasons for attaining employment,
such as friendship and socialization).

The writer suggests that the program creators and organizational management adjust the current
timeline for expected program outcomes to allow more substantive evaluation of this critical
development period..

The writer has engaged in several conversations with supervisors regarding the programs consuming
commitment of organizational and employee support.

The program coordinators/caretakers need to further articulate the diverse racial, gender, sexuality,
religious, linguistic, and class factors that may influence participants experience in the program
differently.

 What complexities do you perceive to be a part of program

development?

How does a clinician/researcher balance the intent to want to help

support employment and vocational support for basic needs (to live
within a material/capitalist society); yet not perpetuate normative
expectations of employment productivity/ideal worker norm.

What would be your next steps?

Citations

Nicholas, D., Clarke, M., & Mitchell, W. (2015).

EmploymentWorks: A Training Program and Resource
Guide for Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder
who Want to Work. Calgary, Alberta.

Nicholas, D., Roberts, W., & Macintosh, C. (2014).

Invited submision: Advancing vocational opportunities
for adults with autism spectrum disorder: Proceedings
from the 1st annual canadian ASD vocational
conference. Currents, 13(1) Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/login?url=http://searc
h.proquest.com/docview/1667324743?accountid=9838
.

Pothier, Dianne & Devlin, Richard (Ed). (2006). Critical

disability theory; essays in philosophy, politics, policy,
and law. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.