ABSTRACT

The predominance of literature on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) focuses on the diagnosis and needs of young children with ASD and their parental caregivers. Research that compares adults with ASD who were in extended public school programs and those who had either aged out of the programs or were not attending these programs and their service needs is lacking. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in caregivers’ reported use of formal and informal social support services for adults with ASD in public educational systems and those who are not receiving services from the educational system. A national sample of 320 parents (age 50+) of an adult child (18+) diagnosed with ASD completed a web-based survey. Results of the study indicated that parental caregivers and adults with ASD were not accessing support services, especially after leaving or aging out of public schools. Social work practitioners and other healthcare professionals can play an important role in addressing the needs of parents and individuals with ASD as they transition into adulthood and age across the lifespan. Future research should investigate the need for services for adults with disabilities, specifically ASD.

摘要

关于自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的文献主要集中在ASD幼儿及其父母照料者的诊断和需求上。缺乏将在扩展的公立学校课程中的成人与自闭症患者以及那些已经退出该课程或未参加这些课程且其服务需求的成年人进行比较的研究。这项研究的目的是调查在照护者报告的针对公共教育系统中患有ASD的成年人和未从教育系统获得服务的成年人使用正式和非正式社会支持服务的差异。全国320名父母（年龄在50岁以上）被诊断患有自闭症的成年子女（18岁以上）的样本完成了基于网络的调查。研究结果表明，父母照顾者和患有ASD的成年人无法获得支持服务，特别是离开公立学校或在公立学校中老化之后。社会工作从业人员和其他医疗保健专业人员在满足ASD父母和个人的整个年龄段的成年和年龄需求时，可以发挥重要作用。未来的研究应该调查为残疾人，特别是ASD提供服务的需求。