Autistic people have issues with social skills, behavior, and communication (American Psychological Association, 2013) and have significant hurdles to sustained, paid employment (Hendricks & Wehman, 2009). Autistic people are often unemployed or underemployed; they work fewer hours and earn less money than neurotypical people and peers with…

This paper used Social Security Administration program data from 2005 to 2019 to examine national- and state-level changes in the number of new adult supplemental security income (SSI) awardees on the autism spectrum relative to awardees with intellectual disability and other mental health disorders. We identified three main findings: the number…

Recent studies on mentalizing have shown that autistic individuals who pass explicit mentalizing tasks may still have difficulties with implicit mentalizing tasks. This study explores implicit mentalizing by examining spontaneous speech that is likely to contain mentalistic expressions. The spontaneous production of meta-statements provides a…

Camouflaging in autism spectrum disorder could be a factor in later diagnosis of individuals without co-occurring intellectual disability, particularly among those designated female sex at birth. Little research to date has examined how gender identity impacts camouflaging, however. Further, no study has compared groups that differ in diagnostic…

The Supports Intensity Scale--Adult Version (SIS-A) was designed to measure the intensity of support needed by adults with intellectual disability (ID). The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the SIS-A to measure the support needs of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using data from 19 jurisdictions in North…

Research has shown lower rates of employment and independent living in adults with autism. Many of these findings are based on cross-sectional studies, predominantly involving male participants. In a 6-year longitudinal study, we examined determinants of psychosocial outcomes in 917 adults with autism spectrum disorder (425 men, 492 women, mean…

Sleep problems are one of the most common complaints in autistic adults. This study aimed to report the perspectives of autistic adults in the United Kingdom on treatment of their sleep problems. A total of 288 autistic adults living in the United Kingdom completed an online survey including assessments of their sleep quality using the Pittsburgh…

Differences in social communication and interaction styles between autistic and typically developing have been studied in isolation and not in the context of real-world social interaction. The current study addresses this "blind spot" by examining whether real-world social interaction quality for autistic adults differs when interacting…

Although epilepsy commonly presents with autism in children, it is currently unknown whether established estimates represent the prevalence and incidence of epilepsy in autistic adults. Our objective was to use population-level Medicaid data to determine prevalence, incidence, and antiepileptic drug use associated with epilepsy in a unique…

Background: Although a growing body of literature has explored the physical activity experiences from the perspective of children on the autism spectrum, the perspective of autistic adults remains largely unheard. Due to this absence of perspective, there exists limited knowledge of the appropriateness and generalizability of current models and…

Self-reported health status is an integral method to understand how adults on the autism spectrum perceive their healthcare and service needs. The objective of the study is to examine how self-reported health changes with use and need of physical health services. The Pennsylvania autism needs assessment included a survey of adults on the autism…

This study explored the social-cognitive profile of 173 adults referred for an autism assessment. We considered key dimensional traits (autism, empathy and systemising) to understand social cognition in adults diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition compared with those who were referred for, but did not receive a diagnosis. There were no…

This study examined COVID-19-related distress among adults with autism spectrum disorder and its associations with demographic and mental health information. A sample of 275 adults (ages 18-35) in the United States, all capable of providing self-reports, was recruited from a large national registry. Adults completed online surveys of mental health…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more prevalent in males than females. Previous research indicates females camouflage ASD symptoms more than males, potentially contributing to the difference in prevalence. This study investigated sex/gender differences in behavioral phenotypes in 17 males and 11 females with ASD, as well camouflaging in ASD, in…

While the medical home has proven effective at improving continuity of care among other populations, there is a paucity of literature testing the effectiveness of medical homes in serving the healthcare needs of autistic adults. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to compare the continuity of care of autistic adult patients at a specialized…