| Title: |
How Can We Make Therapy Better for Autistic Adults? Autistic Adults' Ratings of Helpfulness of Adaptations to Therapy |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Jessica Paynter (ORCID 0000-0003-0130-0606); Kristyn Sommer; Amanda Cook |
| Source: |
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice. 2025 29(6):1540-1553. |
| Availability: |
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
14 |
| Publication Date: |
2025 |
| Document Type: |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: |
Autism Spectrum Disorders; Adults; Therapy; Attitudes; Counseling Effectiveness; Mental Health; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Counseling Techniques; Foreign Countries |
| Geographic Terms: |
Australia; New Zealand |
| DOI: |
10.1177/13623613251313569 |
| ISSN: |
1362-3613; 1461-7005 |
| Abstract: |
Autistic people are at elevated risk of mental health conditions and experience significant barriers to effective support. While adaptations to therapy for autistic people have been proposed by clinicians, there is limited research on how helpful autistic people themselves rate these. We aimed to address this gap. Participants were 130 autistic adults aged 18 to 64 years (85.4% female) who completed an online survey of the helpfulness of 55 therapy adaptations. Overall, we found positive ratings of helpfulness for approximately half of the adaptations. However, significant variability was found at an individual level with most adaptations rated from not helpful through to extremely helpful. Neurodiversity-affirming adaptations were rated highest overall. Participants shared additional adaptations including general good practice, financial, modality, neurodiversity-affirming practices, practical, sensory/environmental, structure, and therapy style/techniques. Findings highlight similarities and differences between clinician and autistic people's perspectives, underscoring the need to include autistic people. Limitations of the restricted sample and generalizability are acknowledged. Future research including more diverse samples would be of value to expand on this research. The need to understand general preferences of autistic people and to individualize to the specific client is underscored by findings to begin bridging the mental health support gap for autistic people. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Entry Date: |
2025 |
| Accession Number: |
EJ1473529 |
| Database: |
ERIC |