BottegaMente: An Italian Internship Program for Autistic Spectrum Disorder Transition to Employment

This exploratory study evaluated a nationwide Italian internship program (BottegaMente) involving 82 autistic participants aged 13-36, measuring impacts on adaptive functioning, emotion regulation, and quality of life before and after participation. Results showed the program effectively enhanced adaptive skills in home life and work domains, suggesting pre-employment internship programs may improve outcomes for autistic adolescents and young adults.