Participation in Daily Activities of Young Adults with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Young adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle to assume adult roles. This research assessed the feasibility of using the Adolescent and Young Adult Activity Card Sort (AYA-ACS) with emerging adults with high functioning ASD. Two phases were utilized during this research: (1) comparing the activity participation reported by emerging adults with an ASD and that reported by their caring adult; (2) examining the barriers to participation reported. Preliminary results demonstrate that the AYA-ACS appears to be a reliable and valid method of identifying emerging adults' participation strengths as well as personal and environmental challenges in a variety of age-appropriate activities. The AYA-ACS could assist service providers by providing an understanding of the challenges to participation faced by this population and aid in developing client centered interventions.

Measurement properties of instruments that assess participation in young people with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review

“…Eight out of the nine included studies were cross‐sectional in design and one was a case–control study, using a known‐group method . Overall, the age range of the sample investigated was from 3 to 52 years (weighted mean for seven studies with a total of 570 participants=140.58mo, SD=9.11mo), and three studies only included adolescents (age range 10–25y; mean=16y 9mo) . Three studies included people with ASD with and without intellectual disability, and four included people with ASD only .…”

“…Seven studies had author teams based in the United States of America and all used instruments published in English. The setting where the instrument was administered varied between studies and included school, online testing, and a research environment . Two studies used real‐time online surveys via electronic devices and, therefore, the individuals’ experiences were measured both in their home environment and in their community .…”

“…Two studies used real‐time online surveys via electronic devices and, therefore, the individuals’ experiences were measured both in their home environment and in their community . Four studies included instruments that were completed by a third person, usually a parent or caregiver, and two studies used instruments that were self‐completed by the individual . In one study, for a subset of participants (46.67%), both the parent and child completed the checklist in order to test the parent‐child's agreement and/or to collect factual information about the activities when the child was not able to answer themselves .…”

“…Three studies used computer adaptive technology . The sample size ranged from 11 to 365 participants, and five studies had 30 or less participants …”

“…Although some of the studies investigated the same broad measurement properties, they often looked at different aspects of that property. For example, some studies looked at the test‐retest reliability of the tool, but they did not look at the tool interrater reliability or vice versa . In addition, these studies often used different statistical techniques to test the measurement properties.…”