Problem

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant deficits in sense perception, communication and social interaction, as well as restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests. The employment rate among young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is about 25%, which is about 3 times lower than among youth without disabilities. There may be a variety of reasons for this low percentage, including:

• Sensory difficulties (touch, hearing, vision, position or smell) and a lack of resources to deal with them
• A need for initial support to become familiar with the job and integrate well into the socio-professional environment (e.g., accommodation or individual support)

Solution

Studies have shown that instructional videos can be useful in promoting the recruitment and integration of autistic people into the workplace. They allow new employees to become familiar with different tasks and clearly demonstrate how to perform them. Instructional videos can also be used in schools to initiate discussions about the future of the grocery industry and then used in employment as a cheat sheet.

The educational videos developed by Dr. Claude Vincent’s research team first aim to assess the interest of future employees with ASD for different tasks to be performed in the context of a grocery store. They then make it possible to assess their understanding of the tasks and to promote their integration into the workplace. A second series of videos has also been developed to help mentors become familiar with the particularities associated with autism.

It should be noted that grocery stores are very favorable environments for autistic people, for several reasons:

• Lack of labour in the food industry predisposes employers to be more open to people with autism spectrum disorders.
• Grocery stores are present in all living environments and are already part of the daily lives of autistic people.
• Grocery stores will always need employees to perform different tasks that will be similar to a branch to the other, thus ensuring some job stability for these workers over time.

Results

11 employees of a grocery store were filmed performing various tasks in 7 separate departments. Each video includes:

• Textual information about sensory stimuli associated with tasks
• Social skills to be developed
• Safety instructions to be followed
• Hygiene instructions to be respected

A total of 21 instructional videos have been produced covering the following departments:

• Fishmonger (5)
• Fruits and vegetables (2)
• Cash register (2)
• Grocery Display (2)
• Bakery (3)
• Cheeses and cold cuts (4)
• Ready-to-eat (3)

The questionnaires associated with each video enable us to check the interest and limitations of future employees, while ensuring their understanding. Questions for mentors, meanwhile, are designed to raise their awareness of the particularities of autism. Anyone wishing to use these tools can create an account to answer the questions and then evaluate their knowledge after viewing the capsules. The data provided will be tallied.

To access the website (in French*):  Autonome Kitchen – Cuisine (app-autonome.education)Ce lien s’ouvrira dans une nouvelle fenêtre

*Please note that to access the Familiarisation à l’emploi section you must be on the French site of the application. Here’s how to change the language if you access the English version of the appCe lien s’ouvrira dans une nouvelle fenêtre.

1. Create your account
2. Click on the familiarisation à l’emploi tab
3. Choose the video to watch on Exemples de travail en épicerie

If you only wish to view the videos, you can access them via our YouTube channel: Équipe Claude Vincent, erg.

If you’d like to see the videos and questions for mentors, you can access them via our lab website (Wix). https://fredericsdumont.wixsite.com/ptsa