Innovation Informs Best Practices in Autism Intervention Across the Lifespan

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Background

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a clinical condition characterized by the core symptoms of social communication, as well as restricted interests and repetitive behaviors. ASD is pervasive in nature, thus at different developmental milestones, these core symptoms affect varying functional life domains, such as health, mental health, daily living, education, work, community engagement, and relationships. Autism is a “spectrum” condition because of its variation in severity, types, and co-morbidities that affect each individual differently. The social nature of humans makes having social-communicative deficits more adversely impacted by ASD. Science has yet to identify the exact cause of ASD, but research suggests that the cause is a combination of genetic and environmental factors. ASD occurs in all ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups. Due to the complexity of the condition intervened with many personal and environmental factors, effective intervention often becomes a challenge.

Evidence-based practices must address “what intervention works for whom under which condition” to facilitate positive rehabilitation outcomes that improve an individual's quality of life. Understanding the biopsychosocial attributes influencing treatment outcomes can help to inform why individuals with ASD gain differently in interventions. This is crucial when interventions may not be as sustainable or effective once implemented in the community as compared to in a controlled research environment. Often, individuals' varying outcomes are due in part that perceived needs, values, beliefs, social factors of stakeholders are less considered when designing an intervention. Methodologies such as implementation science and community-based participatory research can be useful to understand pertinent factors and study mechanisms informing the design of interventions that consider the biopsychosocial attributes for increasing their feasibility and effectiveness in clinical and community settings.

The current Research Topic welcomes studies that are empirical, conceptual, and review (e.g., scoping review, systematic review) in nature. We welcome studies that address innovative methods of studying and informing factors that influence the implementation and effectiveness of services for autism across the lifespan. The scope calls for methodological or conceptual ways to solicit key stakeholders (e.g., practitioners, individuals with ASD, families, community, schools) and the mechanism of change to inform the design and delivery of interventions that are guided by theories. Studies can focus on issues pertinent to different life domains (e.g., mobility, health, mental health, communication, independent living, school, work, wellness) across the different developmental lifespan (e.g., infants, children, adults) and settings.

Keywords: Lifespan, Biopsychosocial, Autism, Best Practices, Intervention

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