Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39985728›Full record

ArticleJournal of autism and developmental disorders2026

The Vocational and Educational Index: An Update to the Vocational Index to Reflect Contemporary Postsecondary Educational Options for Autistic Adults.

Julie Lounds Taylor, Sarah Roberts Carlson, Leann Smith DaWalt, Meghan M Burke, Grace A Herbert, Marsha R Mailick

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Julie Lounds TaylorDepartment of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Julie.l.taylor@vumc.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3904-3476
Sarah Roberts CarlsonDepartment of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
Leann Smith DaWaltWaisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Meghan M BurkeDepartment of Special Education, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
Grace A HerbertDepartment of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
Marsha R MailickWaisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.

Funding

The Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR)UL1TR000445 · NCATS · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · PI BERNARD, GORDON RAPHAEL · 2012 to 2016
$41.4M
Overall: Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at VanderbiltP50HD103537 · NICHD · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · PI Jeffrey L Neul · 2020 to 2026
$10.3M
Waisman Center Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research CenterP50HD105353 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI Brittany Gail Travers · 2021 to 2026
$8.5M
Improving Transition Outcomes for Youth with Autism through Parent Advocacy Training: A Multi-State Randomized Controlled TrialR01MH116058 · NIMH · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · PI TAYLOR, JULIE LOUNDS · 2019 to 2023
$4.1M
A Longitudinal Study of Employment and Educational Instability for Young Adults with Autism Spectrum DisorderR01MH121438 · NIMH · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · PI DAWALT, LEANN SMITH, TAYLOR, JULIE LOUNDS · 2020 to 2024
$3.7M
FAR Fund FAR FundNCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR000445NICHD NIH HHS P50 HD103537NICHD NIH HHS P50 HD105353NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH116058NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH121438U.S. Department of Defense W81XWH-20-1-0475
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The Vocational Index, a tool to reliably capture the range of vocational and educational activities in which adults with autism engage, is regularly used in studies of adult outcomes in autism. However, recently it has been noted that there are some activities (primarily postsecondary education options) that were infrequently available when the index was developed and thus are not fully represented in the current categories. The purpose of this report is to describe the process and results of updating the Vocational Index coding categories to reflect this wider range of activities. An iterative process was used to develop updated codes (called the Vocational and Educational Index). The original Vocational Index and updated Vocational and Educational Index codes were applied to a sample of 384 autistic young adults, and differences between original and updated codes were described. The major changes to the codes involved the development of a parallel educational dimension, benchmarked to the vocational dimension in level of integration, supports, and number of hours. Applying original Vocational Index and updated Vocational and Educational Index codes resulted in few differences in the overall distribution of codes but provided additional information about the contribution of vocational versus educational activities to the overall code. Limitations of the Vocational and Educational Index and future directions for research are discussed.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderAutistic DisorderEmploymentVocational EducationAdolescentAdultFemaleHumansMaleYoung AdultAdultAutismEmploymentPostsecondary educationVocation

Identifiers

PMID39985728
PMCPMC12353770

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.