Adults

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience co-occurring physical and mental health challenges throughout their lives. At the same time, they often face many barriers to accessing proper care. Strategies to improve communication and understanding can help to mitigate some of these barriers. This study examined the effects of an instructional package, including a video module accompanied by guided notes, the Autism Healthcare Accommodations Tool (AHAT), and behavior skills training (BST) to teach adults with autism to communicate their unique needs and request accommodations from a medical provider. Participants completed a self-guided video module that guided them through the process of completing the notes and AHAT to identify appropriate accommodations and prepare for a doctor’s appointment. Once completed, participants learned to verbalize their needs and accommodations through BST. Results showed that the participants’ communication skills increased after the introduction of the instructional package, generalized to a novel doctor and maintained once the instructional package was removed. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to measure the impacts of attendance in a three-month series of social groups on the self-perceptions of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptomology, social skills, and loneliness for adults with ASD. The study also measured the impacts of attendance in a three-month series of social groups on perceptions of ASD symptomology and social skills for the caregivers of adults with ASD. This study utilized a convenience sample of adults that were existing members of Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (FAU CARD) Adult Social Group and an identified caregiver. Data was collected over a period of four months. This was the first study to examine the impacts of participation in a semi-structured social group on perceptions of ASD symptomology, social skills, and loneliness for adults with ASD, as prior studies had focused on more structured, clinical interventions. Variance in perceptions over the three-month series was analyzed using a repeated measures MANOVA. Significant differences were reported over the three month period on both adult self-perception and caregiver perception for ASD symptomology, social skills, and loneliness (N=76).