Pathways to diagnosis in adulthood are poorly understood. Even less is known about undiagnosed adults who believe they may be autistic. This mixed-methods online survey examined adults' journeys from initial concern to receiving the diagnosis. Quantitative findings showed the diagnostic process to be highly heterogeneous. Qualitative analysis…

As autism is an invisible and often stigmatised condition, disclosing the diagnosis may lead to both support and/or discrimination. This mixed-methods questionnaire study examined autistic adults' experiences of disclosure in various contexts. The sample consisted of 393 participants aged 17-83 years from two longitudinal surveys. Almost all…

In this article, we report on an oral history study documenting the lives of autistic adults in Australia. This qualitative study, co-produced with autistic researchers, offers insight into the lived experiences of autistic adults diagnosed in mid-to-late adulthood. Oral history methodology was utilised to understand the experiences of autistic…

Studies are emerging documenting the experience of fatigue, exhaustion and loss of functioning that has long been described by autistic adults as autistic burnout. New assessment tools are needed to enable identification and diagnosis. Here, we sought to identify factors associated with severity, develop an autistic burnout assessment and test the…

Autistic burnout is an experience commonly described by autistic people (#AutBurnout and #AutisticBurnout on social media). Recently, two definitions of this syndrome have been published. Both describe debilitating exhaustion with onset related to various stressors including masking, though several differences exist, such as the characteristic of…

More adults are undergoing autism assessment due to recent changes in awareness, diagnostic criteria and professional practices. This scoping review aimed to summarise research on autism diagnosis in adulthood and identify any gaps for future study. The authors searched for studies involving first-time assessment and diagnosis of autism in adults,…