When Assessment Becomes Gatekeeping: Reconsidering Vocational Rehabilitation for Autistic Adults

Abstract: Autistic adults face unemployment and underemployment rates exceeding 50–85%, despite evidence that workplace exclusion reflects environmental barriers rather than skill deficits. Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies invest substantial resources in assessing individual "readiness" while allocating minimal attention to workplace conditions that determine whether capability can be demonstrated or sustained. This article examines how assessment-focused practices can reframe access barriers as individual deficits, perpetuating unemployment through a logic of preparation that defers action. Drawing on research evidence, organizational examples, and lived experience, the article proposes a shift from readiness gatekeeping toward environmental modification and capability-enabling support. Psychological and economic consequences of this institutional mismatch are documented, alongside evidence-based responses including interview modification, sensory accommodations, transparent communication, and long-term employability frameworks that recognize autistic capability as conditional on accessible conditions rather than inherent limitation.