Challenging neurotypical norms: Autistic adults' understandings of health.
Jamie Koenig, Kiley J McLean, Meghan Haas and 5 others
PMID 40877046WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic adults and their emergency contacts defined health similarly, focusing on subjective well-being and the absence of pain.
Emergency contacts often perceived differences in health understanding that were not present in the interviews.
Key findings
01Both autistic participants and their emergency contacts broadly defined health as subjective well-being, encompassing physical, mental, social, and financial aspects, rather than relying solely on medical metrics.
02The absence of pain was a common component in defining health for both groups, often serving as the primary indicator of being unhealthy.
03While underlying concepts of health were similar between autistic adults and their emergency contacts, emergency contacts frequently perceived significant differences in health perspectives that were not apparent in the interviews.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was relatively small (ten dyads) and homogeneous, with nine of ten autistic participants identifying as White. Participants were largely educated and of middle to upper income, which may not reflect the experiences of autistic adults with lower socioeconomic status or co-occurring intellectual disabilities. Demographic information was not collected for emergency contacts, preventing analysis of how their background might influence perceptions. Recruitment strategies failed to increase the representation of BIPOC participants who had an emergency contact participating, limiting insights into cultural variations in health conceptualization.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret differences in health behaviors as evidence that autistic patients hold different definitions of health. The study found that underlying concepts were similar, but emergency contacts often perceived differences based on how health was practiced rather than how it was defined.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →