• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington IU Bloomington

Open Search
  • About
    • Personnel
    • Getting to IRCA
    • Donate
  • Learn About Autism
    • What to Do If You Suspect Autism
    • Learn the Signs. Act Early
    • How and Where to Obtain a Diagnosis/Assessment
    • After the Diagnosis: A Resource for Families Whose Child is Newly Diagnosed
    • For Adolescents and Adults: After You Receive the Diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder
    • Introducing Your Child to the Diagnosis of Autism
    • Diagnostic Criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder
    • Diagnostic Criteria for Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder
  • What We Do
    • Research
      • Indiana Autism Spectrum Disorder Needs Assessment
    • Online Offerings
    • Training and Coaching
    • Individual Consultations
    • Fee Schedule
    • School District Support
  • Resources
    • Reporter E-Newsletter
    • COVID-19 Visuals and Social Narratives
    • Articles
      • Adult
      • Applied Behavior Analysis
      • Behavior
      • Communication
      • Educational Programming
      • Family
      • General Information
      • Mental Health
      • Self Help and Medical
      • Sensory
      • Social and Leisure
      • Articles Written by Adria Nassim
      • Articles by Temple Grandin
    • Videos
      • Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
      • Behavior
      • Communication
      • Early Intervention
      • Education
      • Financial
      • Self-Help and Medical
      • Sensory
      • Social and Leisure
      • IRCA Short Clips
    • Visual Supports
      • Work Systems: Examples from TEACCH® Training
      • Structured Tasks: Examples from TEACCH® Training
      • Schedules: Examples from TEACCH® Training
      • School
      • Home
      • Holidays and Celebrations
      • Health and Personal Care
      • Behavior and Emotions
    • Financial Resources
    • Groups and Activities
    • State Resources
    • Materials Request
  • News and Events
    • Family Support Webinars
    • ADOS-2
    • PEERS®
    • Comprehensive Programming for Students Across the Autism Spectrum Training Series
    • Workshops with Dr. Brenda Smith Myles
    • Workshops with Dr. Kathleen Quill
    • First Responder Training
    • IRCA Briefs

Indiana Institute on Disability and Community

Indiana Resource Center for Autism

  • Home
  • About
    • Personnel
    • Getting to IRCA
    • Donate
  • Learn About Autism
    • What to Do If You Suspect Autism
    • Learn the Signs. Act Early
    • How and Where to Obtain a Diagnosis/Assessment
    • After the Diagnosis: A Resource for Families Whose Child is Newly Diagnosed
    • For Adolescents and Adults: After You Receive the Diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder
    • Introducing Your Child to the Diagnosis of Autism
    • Diagnostic Criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder
    • Diagnostic Criteria for Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder
  • What We Do
    • Research
    • Online Offerings
    • Training and Coaching
    • Individual Consultations
    • Fee Schedule
    • School District Support
  • Resources
    • Reporter E-Newsletter
    • COVID-19 Visuals and Social Narratives
    • Articles
    • Videos
    • Visual Supports
    • Financial Resources
    • Groups and Activities
    • State Resources
    • Materials Request
  • News and Events
    • Family Support Webinars
    • ADOS-2
    • PEERS®
    • Comprehensive Programming for Students Across the Autism Spectrum Training Series
    • Workshops with Dr. Brenda Smith Myles
    • Workshops with Dr. Kathleen Quill
    • First Responder Training
    • IRCA Briefs
  • Search
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Transition Ideas

Transition Ideas: A Personal Perspective

By: Temple Grandin, Ph.D. Colorado State University

We are honored to share the perspective of Dr. Temple Grandin, a longtime friend and supporter.

Temple was asked to identify those factors that facilitated her successful transition and employment. Below is a short article from Temple on making the transition from high school to the workplace.

One factor that helped in my success is that I had learned how to work BEFORE I graduated from high school.  Ideally work skill training needs to start in middle school with volunteer work that is on a schedule outside the home.  I see too many kids who are over protected and they have never learned to do tasks for other people outside the home.  Working under the direction of people outside the home should occur way before graduation from high school.

If you belong to a church, a job at the church is ideal.  Every Sunday the child has to shake hands and pass out programs.  Helping with the food for social events would also be good.  Other possibilities are walking dogs for the neighbors, mowing lawns or assisting an elderly person.  Parents need to find opportunities in their neighborhood.

In Colorado, teenagers can work in safe retail stores at 14 years old.  Examples of safe retail would be tickets taken at a movie theater, grocery store or shoe store.  Other states, the legal age is 16.  The fully verbal child on the autism spectrum should transition into a real job as soon as they become the legal age.  Parents and teachers need to work through their network of friends to find store managers who would be willing to work with their child.

Tips for Managers Working with Individuals on the Spectrum

  1. No long strings of verbal instruction.  For tasks that are done in a sequence, provide a “pilots written check list.”
  2. Do not be vague.  Social mistakes must be corrected like coaching somebody from a foreign country. Demonstrate correct behavior
  3. Instead of yelling “No” tell the person what they should do.
  4. A person on the spectrum may take longer to train, but they may do the task more accurately.
My work experience:

13 years – Hand sewed dresses for a freelance seamstress – Cash economy
15 years – Cleaned horse stalls
16 years – Did carpentry work and waited on tables at my aunt’s ranch
17 years – Painted signs and sold them

Too many kids are “jumping off” the service cliff when they age out.  When the transition is started in high school, the cliff will be eliminated.  For individuals who have aged out of the system, they will need to start a gradual transition and finally work up to a full-time job.

When I was a child, I had severe speech delay.  I went to school with many kids with no speech delay who would be labeled on the autism spectrum today.  In the 1950’s, they were labeled “geeks” and “nerds.”  All of these people ended up getting and keeping jobs because my generation targets social skills in a more structured manner.  Some of these individuals have owned businesses.


Grandin, T. (2016). Transition ideas. The Reporter, 21 (7). Retrieved from transition-ideas

Indiana Resource Center for Autism

2810 E Discovery Parkway
Bloomington IN 47408
812-855-6508
812-855-9630 (fax)
Sitemap

Director: Cathy Pratt, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Email: prattc@indiana.edu

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

The IRCA Reporter is filled with useful information for individuals, families and professionals.

About the Center

Indiana University

Accessibility | Privacy Notice | Copyright © 2023 The Trustees of Indiana University