Experiences of Support Following Autism Diagnosis in Adulthood

“It’s the only thing I can trust”: Envisioning Large Language Model Use by Autistic Workers for Communication Assistance

“…We observed that our participants included 9 women and 2 men, which has a notably higher proportion of women than the diagnosed population of autistic people at large [48]. While dimensions of gender identities are known to play large roles in workplace experiences and navigating those challenges, these difficulties are amplified for underrepresented autistic adult employees, especially when finding suitable support [37,40,55,58] and are often understudied in research [19]. While this aspect was not specifically explored for this work, we believe a participant group with more women could help illuminate a more diverse range of possible viewpoints than one with more men than women, considering how deeply gender identify relates to social communication issues and norms.…”

Psychometric evaluation of the Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory (CATI) in autistic and non-autistic adults

“…Recognising the high degree of similarity between diagnosed and self-identifying autistic people brings benefits that extend beyond research feasibility. The formation of an autistic identity, either through self-identification or diagnosis, contributes positively to the mental health and wellbeing of autistic people (Bervoets & Hens, 2020;Davies et al, 2023;Fletcher-Watson, 2023;Leedham et al, 2019;Lewis, 2016;Lilley et al, 2021), facilitating access to appropriate support that can improve quality of life, and shifting perceptions from negative labelling to a more nuanced understanding of personal identity (Arnold et al, 2020;Cerda et al, 2023;Davies et al, 2023;Huang et al, 2022bHuang et al, , 2022aHume & Burgess, 2021;McDonald, 2020;Smith-Young et al, 2020). It is possible, of course, that our self-identifying autistic people may have extensively researched what constitutes autism before/during self-identification.…”

The Codesign and Initial Evaluation of a Peer Support Program for Autistic Young Adults

“…It is important to design and test support groups that aim to improve the well-being of autistic young adults (ages [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] during the transition to adulthood.…”

“…2,11,[16][17][18][19][20] Autistic people have called for increased availability of ongoing formal post-diagnostic support that provides practical guidance and education, connection to other autistic people, and a sense of selfunderstanding and empowerment. [21][22][23] Post-diagnostic support may be especially pertinent for autistic young adults (aged 16 -25 years). There are significant developments in one's identity during this time of life, as individuals establish their values, beliefs, and aspirations; ultimately shaping their sense of self.…”