학술논문

Listening to the Autistic Voice: Mental Health Priorities to Guide Research and Practice in Autism from a Stakeholder-Driven Project
Document Type
Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Source
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice. May 2020 24(4):822-833.
Subject
Autism
Adults
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Mental Disorders
Research Design
Health Needs
Mental Health
Stakeholders
Research Needs
Participatory Research
Action Research
Intervention
Language
English
ISSN
1362-3613
Abstract
Autistic adults are significantly more likely to experience co-occurring mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. Although intervention studies are beginning to be implemented with autistic adults to address mental health outcomes, little is known about what research autistic adults feel is needed, or what mental health outcomes are of value to them. The purpose of this article is to describe a project that involved more than 350 autistic adults and other stakeholders as coproducers of research priorities on mental health. Through a variety of methods including a large online survey, two large stakeholder meetings, and three face-to-face focus groups, the project team identified five top priorities for mental health research which should be incorporated by researchers and practitioners in their work with autistic adults. These included research to inform trauma-informed care approaches; societal approaches for inclusion and acceptance of autistic individuals; community-available approaches for self-management of mental health; evaluation of adverse mental health outcomes of existing interventions; and improvements in measurement of quality of life, social well-being, and other preferred outcomes in autistic adults.