As the number of diagnosed adults living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continues to grow, a lack of resources and lack of available interventions exacerbate their low quality of life, including low levels of education and employment, and high levels of co-morbid anxiety and depression. Here we build upon existing research showing the effectiveness of contemplative interventions on individuals with ASD, to provide a low-cost biofeedback-enhanced training which can be implemented by non-professional staff, and may help autistic individuals grasp abstract contemplative techniques. We hypothesize that the intervention will decrease participants’ anxiety and autism symptoms, and increase their self-awareness, self-determination, and empathy. Fourteen adults with ASD, residing in assisted living, were provided with 16 weekly half-hour contemplative-biofeedback sessions with non-professional trainers, in which they learned to reduce their arousal levels through combined biofeedback and contemplative techniques, and apply those to everyday life. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected pre- and post-intervention, to determine changes in participants’ self-awareness, self-determination, anxiety, autism symptoms, and empathy. Participants were capable of successfully improving their physiological arousal levels on the biofeedback setup, indicating feasibility of the technique. Further, we found initial indications for reduction in autism symptoms and increased self-determination. Qualitative reports by participants and counselors revealed that participants applied the techniques in many real-life situations, and these had far-ranging effects on their emotional regulation, work and social motivation, and self-determination. The study provides proof-of-concept for a low-cost, community-based intervention which can ameliorate the lives of adults with ASD.

随着确诊患有自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的成年人数量持续增长，资源和可用干预措施的缺乏加剧了他们的低生活质量，包括教育和就业水平低，以及高度共病焦虑和抑郁症。在这里，我们建立在现有研究的基础上，该研究表明沉思干预对 ASD 个体的有效性，以提供可由非专业人员实施的低成本生物反馈增强培训，并可能帮助自闭症个体掌握抽象的沉思技术。我们假设干预会减少参与者的焦虑和自闭症症状，并增加他们的自我意识、自我决定和同理心。十四名患有 ASD 的成年人，住在辅助生活中，每周为非专业培训师提供 16 次半小时的沉思生物反馈课程，在这些课程中，他们学会了通过结合生物反馈和沉思技术来降低他们的唤醒水平，并将其应用到日常生活中。在干预前后收集定量和定性数据，以确定参与者的自我意识、自我决定、焦虑、自闭症症状和同理心的变化。参与者能够成功地提高他们在生物反馈设置上的生理唤醒水平，表明该技术的可行性。此外，我们发现了减少自闭症症状和增强自我决定的初步迹象。参与者和顾问的定性报告显示参与者在许多现实生活中应用了这些技术，这些对他们的情绪调节、工作和社交动机以及自决权产生了深远的影响。该研究为可以改善患有 ASD 的成年人的生活的低成本、基于社区的干预提供了概念验证。