Autism in adulthood : challenges and management最新文献

{"title":"An Expert Roundtable Discussion on Experiences of Autistic Autism Researchers.","authors":"Patrick Dwyer, Sara M Acevedo, Heather M Brown, Jordan Grapel, Sandra C Jones, Brett Ranon Nachman, Dora M Raymaker, Zachary J Williams","doi":"10.1089/aut.2021.29019.rtb","DOIUrl":"10.1089/aut.2021.29019.rtb","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72338,"journal":{"name":"Autism in adulthood : challenges and management","volume":"3 3","pages":"209-220"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8992911/pdf/aut.2021.29019.rtb.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10547057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Do Neurotypical People Like or Dislike Autistic People?","authors":"Rabi Samil Alkhaldi, Elizabeth Sheppard, Emily Burdett, Peter Mitchell","doi":"10.1089/aut.2020.0059","DOIUrl":"10.1089/aut.2020.0059","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>This study investigated whether neurotypical individuals' judgments that they dislike a person are more common when viewing autistic individuals than when viewing neurotypical individuals.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Videos of autistic and neurotypical targets were presented to a group of perceivers (neurotypical adults) who were asked whether or not they liked each target and why.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>It was more common for perceivers to \"like\" neurotypical than autistic targets. The number of \"likes\" each target received correlated highly with perceiver ratings of target social favorability. Perceivers cited perceived awkwardness and lack of empathy as being reasons for deciding they disliked targets.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The findings shed light on how neurotypical people (mis)perceive autistic people. Such perceptions may act as a barrier to social integration for autistic people.</p><p><strong>Lay summary: </strong><b>Why was this study done?:</b> Previous research has found that nonautistic people tend to form less positive first impressions of autistic people than they do of other nonautistic people. These studies have tended to present questions such as \"How trustworthy is this person?\" or \"How attractive is this person?\" along with ratings scales. However, although it is known that nonautistic people tend to give lower ratings on these scales, we do not know whether this amounts to a dislike for autistic people or just lower levels of liking.<b>What was the purpose of this study?:</b> This study aimed to find out whether nonautistic people are less likely to say they like (and more likely to say they dislike) autistic people than other nonautistic people.<b>What did the researchers do?:</b> The researchers presented videos of autistic and nonautistic people to other nonautistic adults. The people watching the videos were not told that some of the people in the videos were autistic. They were asked to decide whether they liked or disliked the person in each video and to say why they had made their decision by choosing from a range of options.<b>What were the results of the study?:</b> Nonautistic people were more likely to say they disliked the person in the video if they were autistic, even though they did not know the diagnosis. The most common reasons for disliking a person was that they appeared awkward, and that they appeared to lack empathy.<b>What do these findings add to what was already known?:</b> It was already known that nonautistic people tend to rate autistic people less positively on ratings scales. This study suggests that when making judgments-of either liking or disliking-they will sometimes go so far as to say they dislike autistic people.<b>What are potential weaknesses in the study?:</b> All of the people in the video clips were male, while those watching the videos were mainly female. Therefore, we do not know whether the same observations would be made for","PeriodicalId":72338,"journal":{"name":"Autism in adulthood : challenges and management","volume":"3 3","pages":"275-279"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8992906/pdf/aut.2020.0059.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10494129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Autistic Narratives of Sensory Features, Sexuality, and Relationships.","authors":"Sarah Gray,&nbsp;Anne V Kirby,&nbsp;Laura Graham Holmes","doi":"10.1089/aut.2020.0049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2020.0049","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Research about the experience of sexuality and intimacy for autistic people has largely excluded the potential influences of autistic sensory features, which are highly common. The aim of this study was to explore how autistic sensory features influence autistic people's experiences of sexuality and relationships, including the impact of low and high neurological threshold sensory patterns and regarding specific sensory modalities.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Utilizing a qualitative approach, we explored autistic people's perspectives about the influences of sensory features on their experiences of sexuality and relationships through existing publicly available narratives (5 books and 13 online forums containing messages from 72 unique usernames) and responses to an open-ended survey question (<i>N</i> = 49). We used deductive coding based on Dunn's model of sensory processing, as well as inductive coding to identify additional themes about autistic sensory features and sexuality.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our findings indicated that sexual and relationship experiences were related to both sensory sensitivity and sensation seeking (i.e., low and high threshold sensory patterns) across several sensory modalities, including touch, sight, sound, and smell. Sensory features influenced autistic people's sexual and relationship experiences in both positive and negative ways. Examined narratives revealed adaptations and strategies used by autistic people to enhance or enable engagement in sexual activity as well as implications for their sexual identity.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Sensory features and their impact on the sexuality and relationship experiences of autistic people should be considered in clinical practice and educational programming. More research is needed to further understand the impact of autistic sensory features on experiences of sexuality and relationships, and to develop effective strategies to promote safe and satisfying engagement, when desired.</p><p><strong>Lay summary: </strong><b>Why was this study done?:</b> Autistic people often respond to sensations differently than other people, including being more sensitive to sensations and/or wanting more intense sensations (called \"autistic sensory features\" in this study). Many aspects of sexuality and relationships involve sensory input. However, we do not know much about how autistic sensory features influence sexuality and relationships for autistic people.<b>What was the purpose of this study?:</b> The purpose of this study was to explore how autistic sensory features influence autistic people's experiences of sexuality and relationships.<b>What did the researchers do?:</b> For this study, we used two different sources of data. The first was existing publicly available things written by autistic people, including books and posts on online forums. The second was answers provided on a survey question asking about autistic sensory ","PeriodicalId":72338,"journal":{"name":"Autism in adulthood : challenges and management","volume":"3 3","pages":"238-246"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8992905/pdf/aut.2020.0049.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10860077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"<i>Call for Special Issue Papers:</i> Intersecting Identities in Autistic Adults: Deadline for Manuscript Submission: December 1, 2021.","authors":"Kristina Lopez,&nbsp;John Strang","doi":"10.1089/aut.2021.29011.cfp","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2021.29011.cfp","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72338,"journal":{"name":"Autism in adulthood : challenges and management","volume":"3 3","pages":"205"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8992909/pdf/aut.2021.29011.cfp.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10547060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Associations Between Clinical, Social, Financial Factors and Unmet Needs of Autistic Adults: Results from an Observational Study.","authors":"Caroline Jose,&nbsp;Patricia George-Zwicker,&nbsp;Aaron Bouma,&nbsp;Louise Tardif,&nbsp;Darlene Pugsley,&nbsp;Mathieu Bélanger,&nbsp;Marc Robichaud,&nbsp;Jeffrey Gaudet","doi":"10.1089/aut.2020.0027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2020.0027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Autism is a developmental disability that affects how individuals experience the world. Each Autistic individual experiences Autism in their own way, meaning that the level and type of assistance in their everyday lives vary widely. A shortage of programs and services tailored to Autistic adults exists worldwide, and the current gap between needs and services is likely to worsen as the growing number of Autistic children being diagnosed reach adulthood. This research sought to determine priorities in terms of health and social service needs of Autistic adults and to examine factors influencing whether or not these services were being received.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Through a multistakeholder approach, researchers and Autistic adults codeveloped the Maritime Provinces Needs Assessment Survey and collected data from August 2017 to February 2018. The research team engaged Autistic adult partners, including one that was project colead, as full partners. We recruited survey respondents from three Maritime Provinces using mainly social media and local Autism networks. We used Poisson regression analyses to identify factors most strongly associated with the number of unmet needs reported by Autistic adults.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 260 respondents completed the needs assessment survey: 77 self-reporting Autistic adults (aged 19-55 years), 87 Autistic adults (aged 18-63 years) whose information was provided by a proxy respondent, and 96 professionals working in the field of Autism. Autistic adults reported a mean of 2.1 ± 1.5 (self-reported) and 2.8 ± 2.1 (proxy-reported) services wanted but not received. The number of mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions, unemployment, and perception that government support is insufficient were positively related to unmet needs.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Overall, the results of this study highlight considerable gaps among the support needs of Autistic adults. The identification of factors associated with a higher number of unmet needs helps identify potential subgroups requiring more attention.</p><p><strong>Lay summary: </strong><b>Why was this study done?:</b> There is currently a shortage of programs and services for Autistic adults. Little is known about which services are most important to Autistic adults and which factors are associated with not receiving them.<b>What was the purpose of this study?:</b> Our goals were (1) to determine the service need priorities of Autistic adults and (2) to examine factors associated with unmet needs.<b>What did the researchers do?:</b> The researchers invited health professionals, service providers, policy makers, Autism advocates, as well as Autistic adults and caregivers of Autistic adults to participate as part of the project team. In the early phases of the project, we named an Autistic adult colead of the project. In doing so, we acknowledged that conducting relevant research on the Autistic adu","PeriodicalId":72338,"journal":{"name":"Autism in adulthood : challenges and management","volume":"3 3","pages":"266-274"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8992900/pdf/aut.2020.0027.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10489789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Let's Talk About Autistic Autism Researchers.","authors":"Sandra C Jones","doi":"10.1089/aut.2021.29012.scj","DOIUrl":"10.1089/aut.2021.29012.scj","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72338,"journal":{"name":"Autism in adulthood : challenges and management","volume":"3 3","pages":"206-208"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8992910/pdf/aut.2021.29012.scj.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10547059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Preference to Eat Alone: Autistic Adults' Desire for Freedom of Choice for a Peaceful Space.","authors":"JungJa Park-Cardoso, Ana Paula Soares D Silva","doi":"10.1089/aut.2020.0066","DOIUrl":"10.1089/aut.2020.0066","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Backgrounds: </strong>Autistic adults tend to prefer eating alone, which may result in further social isolation. This study aims to understand contexts of challenges autistic adults face when eating with other people outside home.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We explored autistic subjectivities actively situated in eating environments. We conducted follow-up individual email interviews with autistic adults diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder in adulthood (<i>n</i> = 10) and autistic adults without a formal diagnosis (<i>n</i> = 6), both of whom had participated in our prior online survey with Brazilian autistic adults. We used a thematic analysis to gain an in-depth understanding of challenging characteristics of social situations in the eating space.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>To eat out comfortably, many participants did not talk while eating, chose places without sensory overload, chose places with eatable foods, ate at off-peak hours, used sensory tools, and/or left places when stressed. Participants developed these coping strategies to negotiate incongruences between their autistic personal characteristics and their physical environments. However, there were incongruences between the coping strategies and social contexts with codiners. Participants often could not freely use the strategies-both in work and in casual social situations. This lack of freedom of choice often resulted in feeling uncomfortable, sick, or having meltdowns during or after social dining. Because of these experiences, many participants decided to avoid social dining.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The preference to eat alone in autistic adults may reflect their desire for freedom of choice to use coping strategies to eat in a peaceful food space. Creating a peaceful eating environment may be a feasible and humanistic approach to reduce unwanted aloneness and social isolation in autistic adults.</p><p><strong>Lay summary: </strong><b>Why was this study done?:</b> Eating together with other people is a common activity to socialize and feel a sense of belonging. But autistic adults often prefer to eat alone, though they have a desire to socialize.<b>What was the purpose of this study?:</b> To study challenging aspects of eating out with other people, to understand why some autistic adults prefer to eat alone.<b>What did the researchers do?:</b> We interviewed adults who considered themselves to be on the autism spectrum. Of the 16 interview participants, 10 were formally diagnosed with an autism condition and 6 were not. They once participated in our online survey with Brazilian autistic adults. The interviews were done by email. We asked about eating places and experiences in eating out. We looked for the common themes over all the interview responses.<b>What were the results of the study?:</b> When eating out alone, participants had strategies to eat comfortably. They could eat without talking, choose places without sensory overload, choos","PeriodicalId":72338,"journal":{"name":"Autism in adulthood : challenges and management","volume":"3 3","pages":"257-265"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8992907/pdf/aut.2020.0066.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10546613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"\"I'm Human After All\": Autism, Trauma, and Affective Empathy.","authors":"Romy Hume, Henry Burgess","doi":"10.1089/aut.2020.0013","DOIUrl":"10.1089/aut.2020.0013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Academic literature has long associated autism with empathy deficits. Although this view has been attenuated over time to include only cognitive empathy, earlier perceptions continue to influence popular representations of autism and screening/diagnostic tools. As a result, empathetic autistics may be prevented from accessing diagnosis, and those with a diagnosis may experience internalized stigma or violence under the guise of therapy. There are, however, some autistics who do self-identify as having empathy difficulties. The purpose of this perspective piece was to first trouble the view of empathy \"deficit\" as intrinsic within autism and consider alternative explanations and, second, to more deeply consider post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a factor for autistic people who self-identify as having empathy difficulties. Using both literature and author narrative, we argue that autistics are more likely to experience trauma and more vulnerable to developing PTSD, but less likely to receive a diagnosis of PTSD than nonautistics, as their PTSD-related symptoms, such as a lack of affective empathy, may be conflated with autism traits. Our main recommendations are: (1) future studies should investigate the possible interactions between autism, trauma, PTSD, and affective empathy, determining whether autistic adults with PTSD may recover affective empathy following therapy; (2) clinicians should look beyond autism if their client identifies a lack of affective empathy as part of their challenges; (3) and clinicians should adapt diagnostic procedures for PTSD in autistic adults to accommodate those with alexithymia, and exercise caution when using screening tools for autism, allowing empathic autistic adults to access diagnosis.</p><p><strong>Lay summary: </strong><b>What is the topic of this article and why is it important?:</b> Many people believe that autism causes a lack of empathy. This belief is a problem because it denies the lived experience of autistic adults and makes them appear as less than human. It can also lead to violence against autistics, and it can mean that empathic autistic adults miss out on an autism diagnosis. As a result, they may not be able to access necessary supports. This situation may cause suffering for autistic adults.<b>What is the perspective of the authors?:</b> R.H. is an autistic woman diagnosed in adulthood, who is often overwhelmed by too much empathy. She worked as an employment mentor for autistics and is now a PhD candidate researching relationship-building between autistic service users and their support professionals. H.B. is an autistic man diagnosed in childhood. As a teenager, he was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental disorder caused by trauma. He did not feel any empathy for most of his life and felt very distressed by this, as he thought that it was a permanent trait of his autism. However, he started feeling empathy after trauma therapy and falling in love.","PeriodicalId":72338,"journal":{"name":"Autism in adulthood : challenges and management","volume":"3 3","pages":"221-229"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8992898/pdf/aut.2020.0013.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10860078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Toward Empathetic Autism Research: Developing an Autism-Specific Research Passport.","authors":"Maria Ashworth, Laura Crane, Robyn Steward, Melissa Bovis, Elizabeth Pellicano","doi":"10.1089/aut.2020.0026","DOIUrl":"10.1089/aut.2020.0026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Autistic adults sometimes report negative experiences of research participation. People have developed <i>passports</i> or <i>toolkits</i> in other areas where community members report dissatisfaction (e.g., health care, criminal justice). We created a <i>Research Passport</i> that autism researchers and autistic adults could use to support the inclusion of autistic adults as research participants. We designed and developed the Research Passport via an iterative design process. First, we gathered ideas for a Research Passport via focus groups with autistic adults without an intellectual disability (ID) (<i>n</i> = 9) and autism researchers (<i>n</i> = 6; one of whom was autistic). We found that the Research Passport (1) was a useful idea, but not a panacea for all issues in autism research, (2) needed to be universal and flexible, and (3) could have a broad remit (e.g., to record scores on commonly used standardized tasks that could, with permission, be shared with different researchers). Next, we conducted a preliminary evaluation of a prototype Research Passport via usability testing in three ongoing research projects. Nine autistic participants without an ID provided feedback on the Research Passport (via a survey), as did three nonautistic researchers (via interviews). We found that the Research Passport (1) promoted positive participant-researcher relationships, (2) provided a structure and framework to support existing practices, and (3) needed to be adapted slightly to facilitate usability and manage expectations. Overall, the Research Passport was useful in promoting empathetic autism research. Further design and development of the Research Passport are warranted.</p><p><strong>Lay summary: </strong><b>Why was this research developed?:</b> Autistic adults taking part in research do not always have good experiences. An autistic member on our team thought that a <i>Research Passport</i> could help improve people's experiences. This idea was inspired by \"passports\" or \"toolkits\" that autistic people can use when visiting professionals such as doctors (so the doctor knows about the person and how to support them).<b>What does the Research Passport do?:</b> The Research Passport lets autistic people tell researchers about themselves before taking part in a research study. Autistic people can decide how much, or how little, they tell the researcher. Autistic and/or nonautistic researchers can use the Research Passport to try and make sure that their autistic participants have good experiences when taking part in research.<b>How did the researchers evaluate the Research Passport?:</b> First, nine autistic adults (who did not have an intellectual disability) and six autism researchers took part in group discussions. We asked what they thought about our Research Passport idea and what it should include. We made a Research Passport mock-up based on these discussions. Nine autistic participants who did not have an intellectual disability used ","PeriodicalId":72338,"journal":{"name":"Autism in adulthood : challenges and management","volume":"3 3","pages":"280-288"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8992899/pdf/aut.2020.0026.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10860075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interpersonal Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress in Autistic Adults.","authors":"Katherine E Reuben,&nbsp;Christopher M Stanzione,&nbsp;Jenny L Singleton","doi":"10.1089/aut.2020.0073","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2020.0073","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Many autistic adults report interpersonal traumas (IPTs) such as physical or sexual assault, which are often associated with posttraumatic stress and dissociation. Factors such as gender might make autistic individuals particularly vulnerable to experiencing IPT and negative posttraumatic symptoms.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this study, 687 self-identified autistic adults completed an online survey on their traumatic experiences and mental health symptoms.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Seventy-two percent of participants reported experiencing sexual assault, other unwanted or uncomfortable sexual experiences, or physical assault. Forty-four percent of participants met the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including 50% of those who had experienced IPT and 28% of those who had not (odds ratio = 2.50; 95% confidence interval 1.74-3.60). IPT was also significantly associated with higher levels of psychoform (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and somatoform (<i>p</i> < 0.001) dissociation. Autistic cisgender women and gender minorities experienced a significantly higher number of traumas (<i>p</i> = 0.004) and were significantly more likely than cisgender men to experience sexual IPT (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and meet the criteria for PTSD (<i>p</i> < 0.001). There were no significant differences between autistic individuals with and without a professional autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>IPT is associated with potentially severe mental health outcomes for autistic adults. Autistic women and gender minorities may be particularly vulnerable to sexual IPT and adverse outcomes. Increased screening for a history of IPT and posttraumatic symptoms is recommended for all autistic adults regardless of ASD diagnosis status.</p><p><strong>Lay summary: </strong><b>Why was this study done?:</b> Many autistic people experience interpersonal traumas (IPTs) such as sexual or physical assault. These can lead to mental health challenges such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or dissociation (a disconnection between individuals and aspects of their perceptions or sense of self). We wanted to better understand what might make autistic adults more likely to experience trauma and how it affects them.<b>What was the purpose of this study?:</b> The purpose was to understand what might make autistic people more at risk of experiencing IPT and PTSD. We also wanted to know if IPT is associated with a higher risk of PTSD or dissociation.<b>What did the researchers do?:</b> Six hundred eighty-seven autistic adults filled out an online survey about their traumatic experiences, PTSD symptoms, and dissociation symptoms. We analyzed their responses to see how often participants reported experiencing different types of trauma and whether they met the criteria for PTSD and clinical dissociation. We then compared trauma experiences and PTSD rates across genders and those with and without a professio","PeriodicalId":72338,"journal":{"name":"Autism in adulthood : challenges and management","volume":"3 3","pages":"247-256"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8992908/pdf/aut.2020.0073.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10489788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}