Autistic adults’ experiences of managing wellbeing and implications for social prescribing

Charlotte Featherstone*, Richard Sharpe, Nick Axford, Sheena Asthana, Kerryn Husk

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Autistic people demonstrate poor outcomes on objective measures of wellbeing, yet research centring lived experience provides a more nuanced picture. There is growing support for person-centred, holistic and community approaches to enhancing wellbeing for autistic people. Social prescribing may be one such approach. This qualitative study explored the concept of wellbeing for autistic adults – including barriers and self-management – and the implications of this for modifying social prescribing. It involved semi-structured interviews with 21 autistic adults in the UK. Reflexive thematic analysis of the data supports research suggesting that self-determination may underlie many aspects of wellbeing for autistic people. The COVID-19 pandemic provided new opportunities to develop wellbeing strategies but also had negative impacts. Social prescribing could promote self-determination by signposting autistic people to peer support opportunities building on intrinsic interests.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-29
Number of pages0
JournalDisability & Society
Volume0
Issue number0
Early online date12 Oct 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12 Oct 2023
EventDisability & Society -
Duration: 12 Oct 2023 → …

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