ERIC Number: EJ1227232
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Oct
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1362-3613
EISSN: N/A
'I Definitely Feel More in Control of My Life': The Perspectives of Young Autistic People and Their Parents on Emerging Adulthood
Cribb, Serena; Kenny, Lorcan; Pellicano, Elizabeth
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, v23 n7 p1765-1781 Oct 2019
Long-term outcomes studies often paint a discouraging picture of the lives lived by autistic adults. Yet, their outcomes are often measured against normative markers of traditional adult roles, which may not apply to autistic people making the transition to adulthood. Here, we investigated the transition experiences of a group of young autistic people who were followed from childhood. Twenty-six young people and their parents (n = 28) participated in semistructured interviews on the process of transition and their aspirations for the future. Parents often voiced serious concerns about the ongoing support their children would require and the severe lack of services designed to support them as adults. Yet, overall, young people reported feeling more in control of their own lives, including developing a sense of identity and personal autonomy, both of which may be rooted in young autistic people's executive skills and their ability to develop and maintain trusting relationships with others -- two potential candidate areas for targeted support. These results call into question whether the traditional standards to which we often hold young autistic people are developmentally appropriate and suggest that the pressures of striving towards more normative ways of engaging in the world may be detrimental to their well-being.
Descriptors: Autism, Adults, Social Attitudes, Young Adults, Parents, Adjustment (to Environment), Maturity (Individuals), Aspiration, Self Determination, Identification (Psychology), Personal Autonomy, Cognitive Ability, Interpersonal Relationship, Standards, Pervasive Developmental Disorders
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence; Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule; Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A