Intervention Services for Autistic Adults: An ASDEU Study of Autistic Adults, Carers, and Professionals' Experiences.
Martina Micai, Antonio Ciaramella, Tommaso Salvitti and 36 others
PMID 33966137WHAT IT FOUND
Many recommended intervention steps were experienced, but gender, consent, speech, safety, family support, and help for self-harm were less common than professionals reported.
Key findings
01More than 50% of all three groups experienced each of 12 recommended considerations, but gender was experienced by less than a half of adults or carers and consent by fewer than 37% of carers.
02About 63% of adults and carers reported psychosocial interventions, but adults and carers differed on speech/language, personal safety and physical or leisure activity, with adults under 32% and carers over 49%, while more than 73% of professionals said these were standard or often considered.
03Less than 9% of adults and less than 22% of carers reported a family member received an intervention, and less than 26% of adults with challenging behaviour reported an intervention to change the behaviour.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The survey was online and distributed through organisations, professional networks and social media, so responders needed internet access and contact with autism groups. Most autistic adult responders were women, so the sample may poorly represent male autistic adults. 17% of autistic adult responders were currently in college/university education and 27% had completed study at a college/university level, while 36% of adults represented by carers needed a high level of support in daily living and 15% needed institution-like care. The survey did not collect diagnosis details, level of social adaptation, cultural background or the age at which interventions started. 46% of professional responders were psychologists, 13% teachers/pedagogues and 11% psychiatrists, and medical professionals were less represented. Denmark had the largest share of responders at 26%, so other European communities may be under-represented.
Declared interests
The paper names the European Parliament, managed by the European Union, DGSANCO, and the Italian Ministry of Health as funders.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat this survey as evidence that any intervention works. It reports experiences and perceptions of service use, not treatment outcomes, and it does not test whether interventions improved symptoms or daily life.