Published self-determination programs do not adequately address the needs of autistic adults. We designed a multi-component self-determination program, grounded in the neurodiversity paradigm, to help autistic adults achieve goals to improve their quality of life. The first phase involved 5 days of psychoeducation, practice, and social events; the…

Introduction: Every person needs to define their own parameters of values and quality of life as there is a range of life circumstances and objective or subjective factors which force individuals to make decisions and select from available solutions depending on their personalities and other determinants. Currently, these notions have been broadly…

The present study examined adult age and sex differences in self-reported aspirations and personal meaning. Young, midlife, and older adults (N = 2,557) from the United Kingdom or United States completed an online survey of their aspiration striving, aspiration importance, and personal meaning (subscales of Purposeful Life, Exciting Life,…

Difficulties engaging in social activities are considered to be a core symptom of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Both the literature and our clinical observations suggest that most individuals with ASD have a desire to engage in social activities, but social skill deficits make social interaction challenging, and in turn can lead…

Measured future expectations of quality of life and present evaluations of quality of life in three age groups of 60 individuals using four measures. Found significant relationship between age and Faces Scale for future expectations; age also related to differences between future expectations and present quality of life estimates. (Author/ABL)

People frequently mispredict the long-term emotional impact of circumstances. The authors examine 2 causes of such mispredictions--a focusing illusion and underappreciation of adaptation. In Experiment 1, the authors found, in 852 adults, that quality of life estimates (for living with disability) were not increased by reducing focusing illusions.…

The development of humanistic psychology has stimulated research that supports the importance of life esteem, or the way people view meaning and purpose in their lives. The Life Esteem survey is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure the four components of life esteem (framework, perspective, commitment, quality) and to assess the…

The "ISSS Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. (Individual papers contain references.) [For the 2009 proceedings, see ED504973.]