The experiences and needs of female adults with high functioning autism spectrum disorder

Baldwin, Susanna; Costley, Debra

Abstract

There is limited large-scale research into the lived experiences of female adults who have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with no co-occurring intellectual disability (ID). Drawing on the findings of an Australia-wide survey, this paper presents self-report data from n=82 women with high functioning ASD with respect to their health, education, employment, social and community activities. Where relevant, comparisons are provided with the male subset of the same study population: however, in the majority of analyses no discernible gender differences emerged. The findings highlight the diverse and complex challenges faced by women with high functioning ASD, including high levels of mental health disorder, unmet support needs in education settings and the workplace, and social exclusion and isolation.

Citation

Baldwin, S., & Costley, D. (2016). The experiences and needs of female adults with high functioning autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 20(4), https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361315590805

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 1, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jun 25, 2015
• Publication Date: May 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jan 10, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 10, 2017
• Journal: Autism
• Print ISSN: 1362-3613
• Electronic ISSN: 1461-7005
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 4
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361315590805
• Keywords: adults, females, high-functioning autism spectrum disorder, masking, mental health
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/781934
• Publisher URL: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1362361315590805