Personalized job support for autistic adults

A pilot trial of the Individualized Placement and Support model in autistic adults in the community

NIH-funded research University of California at Davis · NIH-11251257

This project offers a personalized job-support program to help autistic young adults get and keep paid employment.

Quick facts

Grant typeNIH-funded research
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUniversity of California at Davis NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Davis, United States)
Project IDNIH-11251257 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

You would be offered Individualized Placement and Support (IPS), a person-centered employment program that matches your skills and interests with real paid jobs. Employment specialists will work with you in the community to find openings, support on-the-job training, and provide ongoing coaching. This pilot builds on UC Davis's earlier work and uses the tested IPS model adapted for autistic adults to aim for competitive integrated employment. The team will follow participants over the funding period to track job outcomes and program feasibility.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Autistic adults—especially young adults leaving school who want to find competitive paid work—are the ideal candidates for participation.

Not a fit: People who are not interested in competitive employment or who require intensive clinical/residential supports may not benefit from this job-placement program.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this program could help more autistic adults obtain and keep meaningful paid jobs and improve overall quality of life.

How similar studies have performed: The IPS approach has strong evidence from many randomized trials in other populations, and early pilot results in autistic adults have been promising but not yet definitive.

Where this research is happening

Davis, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions Autistic Disorder
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.