Reported Barriers and Facilitators for Autistic Individuals, Persons with Other Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and Their Caregivers to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine: A Pilot Study.
Annie W Resnikoff, Valerie Colantuono, Andrea Trubanova Wieckowski and 5 others
PMID 39150481WHAT IT FOUND
Survey respondents most often named knowledgeable staff and low-noise, less crowded spaces as helpful; logistics were the most common reported unhelpful part.
Key findings
01Survey respondents most often named staff clinical expertise (n = 22) and sensory-friendly elements (n = 22) as facilitators.
02Most respondents said there were no unhelpful parts of the clinic (n = 26), and logistics were the most commonly reported unhelpful theme (n = 6).
03Respondents reported prior unsuccessful vaccine attempts elsewhere (n = 5) and prior restraint use elsewhere (n = 2).
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
Only 35 of 157 vaccinated people completed the survey, so most attendees did not report their experience. Attendees were recruited through existing relationships with the autism institute, and participants had to travel to the clinic, so people with greater support needs may be underrepresented. Most respondents were legal guardians (30 of 35), not the vaccine recipients themselves. The clinic provided many supports together, so the study cannot separate staff expertise, sensory elements, location, timeline, and museum access. Data were limited to English speakers, and age-related differences were not evaluated. No information was recorded about how many of the 157 vaccinated attendees were eligible for the study.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that sensory-friendly elements alone caused successful vaccination or positive ratings. The clinic provided many supports together, staff expertise and sensory-friendly elements were reported as common facilitators, and the survey captured only a self-selected subset of attendees.
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 →