How Social Deficit Models Exacerbate the Medical Model

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Whose expertise is it? Evidence for autistic adults as critical autism experts

This is the final version. Available on open access from Frontiers Media via the DOI in this recordAutistic and non-autistic adults' agreement with scientific knowledge about autism, how they define autism, and their endorsement of stigmatizing conceptions of autism has not previously been examined. Using an online survey, we assessed autism knowledge and stigma among 636 adults with varied relationships to autism, including autistic people and nuclear family members. Autistic participants exhibited more scientifically based knowledge than others. They were more likely to describe autism experientially or as a neutral difference, and more often opposed the medical model. Autistic participants and family members reported lower stigma. Greater endorsement of the importance of normalizing autistic people was associated with heightened stigma. Findings suggest that autistic adults should be considered autism experts and involved as partners in autism research.Professional Staff CongressCity University of New Yor

Support Networks of Primary Caregivers Receiving Family Preservation Services: An Exploratory Study

Copyright 1994 Families International, Inc.The authors describe network characteristics and support resources from a clinical sample of 40 families. Data were obtained by family workers during the first two weeks of intervention. Case vignettes illustrate the multiple uses to which this information was put. Implications for future research and practice are discussed

Development of the AASPIRE web accessibility guidelines for autistic web users

Websites figure predominantly in everyday life. However, many websites remain inaccessible to autistic people, and existing efforts to improve accessibility are in early stages, do not directly include autistic users in their development, or have not been empirically evaluated. The Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE) used a community-based participatory research approach to create a website to improve health care access for autistic adults. We used the creation of that website as a “living laboratory” to develop the AASPIRE Web Accessibility Guidelines for Autistic Web Users. Our guidelines are grounded in accessibility theory, had autistic end-user involvement at all stages, and were empirically evaluated through a usability study and evaluation surveys. We incorporated what we learned into the design of the website, and compiled the accessibility information into a set of guidelines. The guidelines offer recommendations for increasing the physical, intellectual, and social acceptability of websites for use by autistic adults. In the evaluation of the website by 170 autistic end users, nearly all indicated it was easy to use (97%), easy to understand (95%), important (97%), and useful (96%). Ninety-two percent would recommend it to a friend, and 95% would recommend it to a health care provider. There were no significant associations between usability or understandability and education level, receipt of help using the site, browser type (e.g., IE or Safari), or device type (e.g., PC or tablet). We recommend using the guidelines to improve website accessibility for autistic Internet users