'Just knowing it's there gives me comfort': Exploring the benefits and challenges of autism alert cards.
Chris Edwards, Abigail Ma Love, Rebecca L Flower and 2 others
PMID 39422173WHAT IT FOUND
Many participants described the autism alert card as helping them explain needs without speaking and as a safety net, while others faced disbelief, stigma or dismissal, especially from police and healthcare staff.
Key findings
01About half of participants reported using the card at least once, and most users described mostly positive reactions.
02Participants described the card as a quick non-verbal way to explain autism when speaking was difficult, especially in healthcare, transport, retail and emergency situations.
03Negative experiences were attributed to societal disbelief, stigma, infantilisation or dismissal, including by police and healthcare staff.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only people who requested this specific Australian alert card were surveyed, and only 272 participants were analysed, so people who did not request a card or did not respond are not represented. The sample was predominantly White females and included only eight Autistic children, so experiences of men, non-binary people, other ethnic groups and children may be underrepresented. The findings are for one alert card in Australia and may not apply to other cards or countries. The study analysed 272 participants, while 6361 cards were distributed and 4682 people consented to be contacted, so the views captured may not represent all card users.
Declared interests
Most authors are affiliated with Aspect, which provides autism alert cards free of charge to Autistic individuals, their families and supporters, and the research was supported by Aspect.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that autism alert cards are proven effective or should be used routinely. Only about half of participants reported using the card, most used it rarely, and some described being ignored, disbelieved or infantilised when they showed it.