ATTAIN-Autism Transition to Adulthood Initiative

PUBLICATION ALERT! Check out our new article based on Project ATTAIN (Autism Transition to Adulthood Initiative) research. This study explored predictors of different life experiences in adulthood for Autistic young people. In particular, we found that goal setting and psychological empowerment were significant predictors of all adult life experience outcomes tested!

Shaw, L. A., Brendli Brown, K. R., & Enayati, H. (2026). Autistic people and life experiences: the role of student skills and support. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 17, 1-12.

Frontiers | Autistic people and life experiences: the role of student skills and support IntroductionStudies examining quality of life outcomes have shown that Autistic people experience lower scores across domains (e.g., physical, psychological)...

PUBLICATION ALERT! Check out ATTAIN's latest research article just published with the Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities (ETADD) journal, titled "Predictors of Employment for Autistic Youth: Initial and Follow-up PROMISE Survey Results".

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21541647261430270

We found strong evidence supporting the associations between multiple career development activities (e.g., paid employment/work experience) and student skills (e.g., youth autonomy/decision-making) in high school with post-school employment.

Cite our work!

Brendli Brown, K. R., Shaw, L., & Enayati, H. (2026). Predictors of Employment for Autistic Youth: Initial and Follow-up PROMISE Survey Results. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/21541647261430270

Predictors of Employment for Autistic Youth: Initial and Follow-up PROMISE Survey Results - Katherine R. Brendli Brown, Leslie Shaw, Hassan Enayati, 2026 Many Autistic people experience difficulties in obtaining and maintaining employment, particularly in the first few years after exiting high school. While resea...

Check out this new Cornell University ILR School article featuring research co-led by one of our ATTAIN researchers, Dr. Katie Brendli Brown. This research examines the job interview process for Autistic college students and recent graduates pursuing STEM fields. The project takes on an inclusive research approach, with people with lived experience and expertise in autism informing every step of the research process, similar to ATTAIN.

Improving Interviews for Autistic Jobseekers Researchers at ILR's Yang-Tan Institute are studying the experiences of Autistic jobseekers in STEM to understand interview challenges and develop recommendations for improving the hiring process.

ATTAIN's Katie Brendli Brown was selected as one of the 2026 Fellows for the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Congratulations Katie!

AAIDD Announces its 2026 Fellows Listing of all of our news releases

Katie Brendli Brown just presented at the Council for Exceptional Children Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities annual conference in Los Angeles! She was sharing results from a pilot project involving pre-service teachers and the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction.

Go Katie!

One of the ATTAIN researchers, Dr. Katie Brendli Brown, will be presenting at the Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (DADD) Conference next week!! ATTAIN research will be showcased in her presentation called "Transition Predictors and Effective Practices: Pre-service Teachers Supporting Autistic Students' Self-Determination."

Katie is excited to network with you at the conference and talk about autism, self-determination, & post-secondary transitions! Check out her two presentations on January 16th!!

K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability

ATTAIN project team members present their research at DCDT!

The ATTAIN research team is excited to announce that we have received word from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) that we have been awarded a Field Initiated Research Grant, which is funded for the next three years. The title of our project is “Identifying Activities Linked to Improve Outcomes for Autistic Youth”.

The goals of the mixed-method study are to:
-identify predictors of successful transition from high school to postsecondary employment, education, and adult life experiences for Autistic youth
-explore factors that increase two- and four-year college retention, academic achievement, and completion

Successful AAIDD presentation, panel issue brief.

The panelists individually shared findings from different research studies focused on employment practices.

Dr. Katie Brendli Brown, K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability Research and Evaluation Associate, presented on Project ATTAIN research, with an emphasis on student skills and career development predictors of employment for Autistic youth.

Inclusion makes a difference!

Should students with special education needs be included into typical classrooms? 👩‍🏫 Researcher scientist Jennifer Kurth spoke earlier with . 🔗 Read the story: https://loom.ly/cDzcFng

"Study after study is showing that there's no harm to being included, but there's great risks of harm to being segregated," Kurth said. "Kids [with disabilities] who are included develop better academic skills, better communication skills, better social skills, just kind of everything we try to measure."

Thank you to everyone who joined our session yesterday, where we discussed improving employment outcomes for Autistic youth!