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It is recognized that the experiences of women with autism spectrum disorder are often underrepresented in the literature. In this study, 20 women with autism spectrum disorder participated in five focus groups with discussions centered on their service use, unmet service needs, and barriers to care. Overall, women emphasized high unmet service needs, particularly with respect to mental health concerns, residential supports, and vocational and employment services. Participants also perceived many service providers as disregarding or misunderstanding women's service needs. Findings of the current exploratory study are discussed in relation to areas of future research required to ensure effective care for this understudied population.

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Families play an important role in supporting individuals with autism spectrum disorder across the lifespan. Indicators of family wellbeing can help to establish benchmarks for service provision and evaluation; however, a critical first step is a clear understanding of the construct in question. The purpose of the current scoping review was to (a) summarize current conceptualizations and measurements of family wellbeing, (b) synthesize key findings, and (c) highlight gaps and limitations in the extant literature. A final review of 86 articles highlighted the difficulty of synthesizing findings of family wellbeing in the autism spectrum disorder literature due to varied measurement techniques and the limited use of a common theoretical direction. Considerations for future research are presented with an eye toward policy relevance.