Knowing what an employer wants to hear can make all the difference during a job interview.

知道雇主希望听到什么，可以在面试期间收到截然不同的效果。

For adults with an autism-spectrum disorder, those answers can be harder to come by. And without work, they face the prospect of a much less independent life.

对于患有自闭症谱系障碍的成年人而言，那些答案可能更难知道。而如果没有工作，他们就会面临生活中独立性大大降低的可能性。

But early evidence suggests some job-training programs geared for these individuals appear to improve interview skills and self-confidence.

但初步证据表明，有些针对这些人士开发的就业培训程序，似乎能够提高他们的面试技巧和自信心。

Much of the focus on autism, a developmental disorder characterized by social deficits and repetitive behavior, has centered on the diagnosis and treatment of young children. But for parents and experts, the question of what happens when these patients grow older and age out of social services looms large. More than half of adults with autism in the U.S. are unemployed, according to studies.

自闭症是一种发育障碍，特征是社交不足，行为反复。过去人们对自闭症的关注，很大程度上集中于幼童的诊断和治疗。但对于父母和专家来讲，这些病人长大后失去享受社会服务资格时该怎么办，是一个突出的问题。调查表明，美国一半以上成年自闭症患者没有工作。

Parts of the job-seeking process can be missed or misinterpreted by people with autism. They may not engage in small talk to ingratiate themselves to colleagues or employers. Networking can make them anxious. Many need to hear that they should write a cover letter even if a job description only asks for a resume, says Lydia Brown, a former project assistant at the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network and an Arabic and Islamic Studies student at Georgetown University.

求职过程中的某些部分可能会被自闭症患者忽视或误解。他们可能不会参加闲聊以结交同事或雇主。与人交往可能会让他们紧张。曾任自闭症自我维权网络(Autistic Self-Advocacy Network)项目助理、目前在乔治城大学(Georgetown University)攻读阿拉伯语和伊斯兰学的莉迪娅・布朗(Lydia Brown)说，很多人需要别人告诉他们，即使职位描述只要求提供简历，也要写一封求职信。

Scientists from Northwestern, Vanderbilt and Yale universities are studying whether interview skills can be improved through a computer-based program that uses a virtual-reality interviewer dubbed Molly.

西北大学(Northwestern)、范德堡大学(Vanderbilt)和耶鲁大学(Yale)的科学家，正在研究自闭症患者的面试技巧能不能通过一款程序得到提高。这款电脑程序使用虚拟实境面试官“莫莉”(Molly)。

On screen, Molly is a young but professional-looking brunette whose voice comes from an actress who recorded 2,000 questions and answers related to job interviews.

在屏幕上，莫莉是一名年轻但又显得很职业的黑发女郎。她的声音来自一名演员，这名演员录了2,000条有关面试的问题和答案。

Technologically, she is based on sophisticated person-simulation software originally designed to train FBI agents to interrogate witnesses, says Dale Olsen, who developed the initial technology in 1995 when he was a scientist at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory. He is now the chief executive of a Columbia, Md.-based company called Simmersion, which sells training systems using the technology.

1995年开发出最初技术的戴尔・奥尔森(Dale Olsen)说，从技术角度来讲，莫莉的背后是复杂的拟人软件，这种软件最开始的目的是用来训练FBI特工讯问证人。当年奥尔森是约翰霍普金斯大学(Johns Hopkins University)应用心理学实验室的科学家，现在他是马里兰州哥伦比亚Simmersion公司的首席执行长，这家公司出售采用这项技术的培训系统。

The trainees start by filling out an application processed by the program to determine the most appropriate questions for applicants. For instance, if people have gaps in their work history, Molly may ask applicants to explain them.

受训者先是填写一张经过这款程序处理的申请书，以确定哪些问题最适合求职者。比如，如果工作经历有空档期，莫莉可能就会要求求职者解释。

In addition, Molly can be programmed to three levels, from nice to brusque. Trainees learn to navigate these situations by choosing from a set of responses to each question. After each selection, they hear feedback about how well they answered.

除此以外，还可以通过编程将莫莉设置为从友善到粗暴的三个级别。受训者学习针对每一个问题在一组答案中做出选择，以从容应对这些局面。在每一次挑选过后，他们就会听到反馈，说他们回答得好还是不好。

The feedback is intended to help trainees build rapport with an interviewer. For instance, when asked if they have experience, some trainees initially may respond 'no,' without realizing that such a response may hurt them. Gradually, they may learn a more effective response, like, 'No, but I'm a fast learner.'

这种反馈是为了帮助受训者跟面试官之间建立和谐关系。比如在问到有没有工作经验时，一些受训者最开始可能会回答“没有”，而没有意识到这样的回答可能会伤害自己。慢慢地，他们可能会学会一种更加有效的回答，比如“没有，但我学得很快”。

In the study, 26 adults ages 18 to 31 were assigned either to work with Molly on up to 20 trials over a 10-hour period, or to their usual treatment. They all were also interviewed by researchers at the beginning and end of the study.

研究把26名年龄在18岁到31岁的成年人分成两组，一组跟莫莉一起在10小时时间内做最多20次练习，一组接受平时的治疗。另外在研究开始和结束的时候，他们全都接受了研究人员的面试。

The data showed that those who worked with Molly reported better self-confidence and better performance scores in the mock interviews over time. A preliminary data analysis, still unpublished, suggests that those who received training with Molly were more likely to get competitive positions than those who didn't, says Matthew Smith, research assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern. He is also first author on the study, which was published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

数据显示，跟莫莉一起练习的那些人反映，随着时间的推移，他们的自信心提高了，模拟面试的成绩也变得更好。西北大学精神病学与行为科学研究助理教授马修・史密斯(Matthew Smith)说，尚未发表的初步数据分析显示，接受莫莉培训的人员相比没有接受培训的人员更有可能获得竞争激烈的岗位。论文发表于《自闭症与发展障碍杂志》(Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders)，史密斯是第一作者。

Kat Wyand, 25, was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a mild form of autism, when she was 16, and told by teachers and therapists that her deficits with social skills would prevent her from getting a job. Ms. Wyand was devastated. She went on to get a bachelor's degree in audio arts and acoustics at Columbia College in Chicago, but had trouble finding work. She says she sent out a number of applications but received few interviews and doesn't know why.

现年25岁的凯特・怀恩德(Kat Wyand)在16岁的时候被诊断患有阿斯伯格综合征（一种温和的自闭症），老师和治疗师对她说，因为社交技能方面的缺陷，她将无法找到工作。怀恩德深受打击。后来她在芝加哥的哥伦比亚学院(Columbia College)获得录音艺术与声学专业的学士学位，但找工作却遇到了困难。她表示自己发出了好几封求职信，但面试机会很少，不知道是怎么回事。

When she heard about the study at Northwestern, she immediately got in touch. She says she learned what to say to start an interview, and to condense her answers, since she had a tendency to ramble. However, with the computer program, she says she wasn't able to get feedback on her body position or tone of voice, which is something she has trouble with.

听闻西北大学的研究时，她马上跟他们取得了联系。她说，她学会了在面试的时候怎样说开场白，怎样言简意赅地回答问题，因为她有一种跑题的倾向。但怀恩德说，她无法用这款电脑程序获取有关自己姿势和语调的反馈，而她这两方面都有问题。

Since then, she has found a part-time job as a bookkeeper at an art gallery where she had been volunteering. Now she is considering teaching guitar, something she previously wouldn't have considered.

在那之后，她在之前做志愿者的一家画廊找了一份兼职图书管理员的工作。现在她正在考虑教人学吉他，放到以前，她是不会这么考虑的。

'I've lifted myself from the depression, but it's taken years,' Ms. Wyand says. 'Now I'm feeling hopeful that I actually have talents that I can use and get employed.'

怀恩德说：“我让自己摆脱了抑郁状态，但用了几年的时间。现在我充满了希望：实际上我的才能是可以用来找工作的。”

Other programs with research evidence behind them include JobTIPS, a Web-based service that includes videos, printable guides and assessments. In a randomized study, 22 teens between 16 and 19 years old completed the training, while another group didn't. Those who went through JobTIPS exhibited more effective interview skills after the training, according to the paper published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders in 2013.

效果获得研究证明的其他程序还包括JobTIPS。这是一款基于网页的服务，包含视频、可打印的指南和评估系统。在一次随机调查中，22名16岁到19岁的年轻人完成了训练，另一组没有。根据2013年发表在《自闭症与发育障碍杂志》上的论文，接受JobTIPS培训的人员表现出更有效的面试技巧。

Other programs take a more traditional, internship-based approach to job training. At Virginia Commonwealth University, Paul Wehman has been running a trial since 2009. It assigns six to eight high-school students with autism each year to a nine-month internship program at area hospitals, with others getting treatment as usual in school.

其他计划则采取了一种更加传统的、基于实习的就业培训方法。在弗吉尼亚联邦大学(Virginia Commonwealth University)，保罗・魏曼(Paul Wehman)从2009年以来一直在做一项实验。这项实验每年把六到八名患有自闭症的高中学生分配到地区医院参加一个为时九个月的实习计划，而让另一些患病学生像往常一样在学校接受治疗。

Trying to take advantage of some of the skills of people with autism, such as attention to detail, internships have included ambulatory surgery rotations where students sterilize surgical equipment. Students have also worked in the pharmacy, where they fill bottles of medication.

为了充分发挥自闭症患者某些技能的优势，比如关注细节，这项实习计划包含了让学生在门诊手术室轮班的内容，负责给手术器材消毒。此外还包括让学生在药房工作，往瓶子里装药等。

Two years after the internships, of the 20 who were employed after graduation, 17 are still at the job, two were terminated and one moved away, Dr. Wehman says.

魏曼说，实习结束两年过后，20名毕业后找到工作的学生里面，17人仍然在岗，两人被解雇，一人搬走。

Marsha Mailick, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Waisman Center, which helps teens with autism move into adulthood, says that she supports any program that increases the likelihood of employment. But interview training hasn't been demonstrated as the most effective strategy, she says.

威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校(University of Wisconsin-Madison)魏斯曼中心(Waisman Center)一直在帮助患有自闭症的青少年向成年过渡。中心主任玛莎・梅里克(Marsha Mailick)说，她支持任何增加找到工作可能性的计划。但她说，面试训练尚未被证明是最有效的策略。

She suggests that parents network and think creatively to help their children obtain, as soon as possible, jobs that give gratification and occupy many hours a week. A job is 'therapeutic,' she says.

她建议家长通过与人结交、创造性地想办法，帮助孩子尽早获得能带给他们满足感，并且一个星期要花很多时间来做的工作。她说，工作是有“疗效”的。