Experiences of Sensory Overload and Communication Barriers by Autistic Adults in Health Care Settings.
Maria Strömberg, Lina Liman, Peter Bang and 1 others
PMID 36600905WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic adults reported significant distress from background noise and feeling misunderstood in health care.
Qualitative feedback highlighted that providers often misread nonverbal cues or lacked autism knowledge. Simple environmental changes and literal communication can reduce barriers.
Key findings
01Autistic participants were significantly more likely to disagree that background sound levels in health care settings were acceptable, even after adjusting for ADHD and anxiety.
0240% of autistic participants reported that medical professionals had questioned their autism diagnosis despite documented history, often due to high verbal or educational functioning.
03Communication barriers arose when providers misinterpreted autistic patients' nonverbal cues or failed to provide literal, detailed information about procedures and environments.
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 small (98 participants) and heavily skewed toward highly educated, motivated females, limiting generalizability to minimally verbal or less educated autistic adults. The study was observational and anonymous, preventing member checking to verify the accuracy of the qualitative themes. Many significant differences between autistic and nonautistic groups disappeared after adjusting for comorbidities like ADHD and anxiety, suggesting these conditions may drive some sensory or communication challenges. The nonautistic control group was small (36 participants) and not matched for health status or health care exposure.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was exempt from ethical review due to anonymity.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that sensory and communication difficulties are unique to autism in this context. Many of the reported challenges, particularly light sensitivity and feeling misunderstood, were also influenced by or associated with co-occurring conditions like ADHD and anxiety, and some differences between autistic and nonautistic participants lost statistical significance when these factors were accounted for.