College to Career
An innovative approach toward helping autistic young adults in their transition from college to a career.
About the Program
There will be an estimated 700,000 autistic adults aging into adulthood over the next 10 years. Yet, a staggering 80% of autistic adults are unemployed. UCLA College to Career is an innovative offering for autistic undergraduate and graduate students (or for those who suspect they are autistic) in their transition from college to career. UCLA College to Career creates a scalable solution to employment barriers faced by autistic individuals and serves as a model of higher education training for colleges across the country.
UCLA College to Career is offered in both a clinical and research setting. UCLA College to Career's flagship program is called PEERS for Careers and teaches autistic young adults the necessary skills for obtaining and maintaining a job and provides an internship experience to practice learned skills. Here are some of the skills UCLA College to Career addresses:
- Choosing a career
- Creating a resume
- Finding and applying for employment
- Electronic communication
- Understanding/navigating the workplace culture
- Interviewing etiquette
- Conversational skills
- Entering and exiting group conversations
- Humor in the workplace
- Stress management/executive functioning skills
- Conflict resolution
UCLA College to Career is constantly seeking new partnerships with organizations and business professionals looking for bright, motivated young adults to complete short-term projects or for employment. Click here or the "Employer Enrollment" button below to learn more about how you can partner with UCLA College to Career and inspire autistic young adults to successfully transition from college to career
Videos
Impacting more adults on the autism spectrum
Building social skills and confidence
Developing key job-related and practical skills
Experiences
C2C Team
Amanda Gulsrud, Ph.D.
HS Associate Professor
Director of C2C
Elizabeth Laugeson, Psy.D.
Associate Clinical Professor
Director of C2C
James McCracken, M.D.
Joseph Campbell
Professor of Child Psychiatry
Reina Factor, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Clinical Psychology Fellow
Christine Moody, PhD
Postdoctoral Clinical Psychology Fellow
Monica Belli Haley
Director of Operations, CART
Advisory Committee 2020
- Chau Le
- John Klemm
- Lily Chau
- Priscila Kasha
- Walt Kasha
- Yanning Zuo
This program has been made possible by the support of our generous donors, including Chau Le, John Klemm, Northwestern Mutual, Autism Speaks, and so many others. To learn more about how to support this program, please contact Christopher Carbado, Director of Development for UCLA Health Sciences, at (310) 562-6498 or by email at ccarbado@mednet.ucla.edu.
