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Autism Spectrum Disorder and Transition-Aged Youth

  • Child and Adolescent Disorders (T Benton, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

This article discusses common issues surrounding transition to adulthood in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We review recent evidence on co-occurring medical and mental health conditions and topics of education and employment, sexuality and relationships, independent living, and financial support.

Recent Findings

Transitioning individuals with ASD have increased risk for several medical and behavioral health comorbidities and should be routinely screened for co-occurring conditions. Evidence on interventions for mental health disorders is limited but emerging, particularly with respect to mindfulness training and cognitive behavioral therapy. Many autistic adults or their families express a desire for independent living, participation in education/employment, and intimacy and social relationships, but they often lack skills and/or resources to successfully achieve these outcomes.

Summary

The time of transition to adulthood for adolescents with ASD is an opportunity for physicians to provide anticipatory guidance and necessary supports around issues of community participation. To allow time for planning, these discussions should occur well before the child reaches adulthood. Clinicians should also routinely screen for and address medical and/or behavioral health comorbidities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 3550 Market Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Amanda E. Bennett, Natalie Stollon & Nathan J. Blum

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Judith S. Miller & Raghuram Prasad

  3. Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Judith S. Miller, Raghuram Prasad & Nathan J. Blum

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  1. Amanda E. Bennett
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  2. Judith S. Miller
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Correspondence to Amanda E. Bennett.

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Conflict of Interest

Amanda E. Bennett reports grants from Autism Speaks, Neurim Pharmaceuticals, Stemina Biomarker Discovery, and Roche Pharmaceuticals; her spouse is an employee of Pfizer, serving as director of endocrine clinical research. Judith S. Miller and Natalie Stollon each declare no potential conflicts of interest. Raghuram Prasad reports grants from Aevi and PCORI. Nathan J. Blum reports royalties for the Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, published by Elsevier.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

We use both person-first language (e.g., adults with ASD) and identity-first language (autistic adults) to represent terminology preferences shared within the community of families and individuals with ASD [https://ncdj.org/2016/01/journalists-should-learn-to-carefully-traverse-a-variety-of-disability-terminology/].

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Child and Adolescent Disorders

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Bennett, A.E., Miller, J.S., Stollon, N. et al. Autism Spectrum Disorder and Transition-Aged Youth. Curr Psychiatry Rep 20, 103 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-018-0967-y

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