Work, living, and the pursuit of happiness: Vocational and psychosocial outcomes for young adults with autism.

Only 123 of 244 eligible young adults had outcome data. Attrition was associated with lower parent education and non-white race, which can reduce generalisability. The never-ASD group had only 17 participants, and self-report comparisons in that group were too small to analyse. Some well-being measures were completed by parents even though they are usually self-report, and parent report may miss the adult's own feelings. Participants were referred for assessment 24 years ago and do not represent today's referral patterns. Few children in the sample received the amount of early intervention available to some families now. The never-ASD group was diagnostically heterogeneous, including intellectual disability, ADHD, language disorder, and major depression. The autism severity score used cannot be assumed equivalent across different ADOS modules. The sample had few females, so confidence in generalising to women is limited.

The supplied text records NIH and non-U.S. government research support. No author conflict-of-interest declaration appears in the provided article text.

Do not read this as showing that autism alone causes worse work, living, or friendship outcomes. The lower-IQ autistic group had the clearest differences, and after accounting for adult verbal IQ several group differences were no longer apparent.