Real-World Experiences in Autistic Adult Diagnostic Services and Post-diagnostic Support and Alignment with Services Guidelines: Results from the ASDEU Study. (2021), Scattoni ML., Micai M., Ciaramella A., Salvitti T., Fulceri F., Fatta LM., et al.

Open access article: ( https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33502713/ )

Abstract

Research providing an evidence-base for autistic adult services is sparse. The Autism Spectrum Disorders in the European Union (ASDEU) network implemented an on-line survey to determine gaps in autistic adult diagnostic evaluation and post-diagnostic support services. More than 55% in all groups experienced most of the recommended features for diagnostic evaluation for autistic adults. In contrast, < 2% of adults or carers, and < 21% of professionals experienced each of the recommended features for post-diagnostic support. In contrast to 61% of professionals, only about 30% of autistic adults and carers had knowledge of good local services models for autism diagnosis in adulthood. There are major differences between good practice guidelines for diagnostic and post-diagnostic care for autistic adults, and what is actually experienced by services users and professionals.

Citations: Scattoni ML., Micai M., Ciaramella A., Salvitti T., Fulceri F., Fatta LM., et al., (2021). Real-World Experiences in Autistic Adult Diagnostic Services and Post-diagnostic Support and Alignment with Services Guidelines: Results from the ASDEU Study. J Autism Dev Disord., 51(11):4129-4146. doi: 10.1007/s10803-021-04873-5.