Nearly two-thirds of autistic adults face unemployment, often due to workplace misunderstandings around communication styles rather than ability. This episode explores research from Kessler Foundation that uses a novel voicemail elicitation task to assess polite language use among autistic youth in mock work scenarios. Discover how perceived impoliteness arises from pragmatic differences in language and what this means for job interviews, teamwork, and employee relationships. Learn practical tips for autistic individuals preparing for employment and strategies employers can implement to foster better understanding and inclusion.

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Kessler Foundation Investigators:
Lead: Heba E. Elsayed, MD

https://kesslerfoundation.org/about-us/foundation-staff/heba-elsayed-md

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READ this journal article:

“Voicemail Elicitation Task: Potential workplace communication assessment tool for autistic individuals” (Research in Autism, 2025) doi.org/10.3389/fresc.2025.1539887.

EXPLORE our autism research:
https://kesslerfoundation.org/research/center-for-autism-research

LEARN more about KF-STRIDE, https://kfstride.org

PARTICIPATE:
Interested in participating in our research remotely or in-person? Go to https://kesslerfoundation.org/join-our-research-studies

LISTEN to more Real-Life Science Summaries:
https://soundcloud.com/kesslerfoundation/sets/real-life-science

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This podcast was recorded, produced, and edited by Joan Banks-Smith, Creative Producer at Kessler Foundation in December 2025.

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Kessler Foundation uses AI voices and narrators to make our media more accessible. These tools help ensure people with visual or cognitive impairments can access our materials. Automated voices may not always capture intonation or pronunciation as clearly as the accompanying text. If you experience issues with our AI narrators, please contact us at [email protected].