Emanuela Nobile, Giovanni Cicinelli, Elisa De Bartolo, Romeo Brambilla, Stefania Brighenti, Roberto Keller

Key words: autism, adulthood, outcomes, global functioning, interventions

Objective: Autism Spectrum Disorders are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by persistent communication and social interaction challenges, restricted and repetitive behaviours and interests. The severity of ASD symptoms varies widely, influencing an individual's functioning throughout their lifespan. Various external contextual factors can further modulate these symptoms and their impact on overall functioning. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate global functioning as well as the types of services, interventions and therapies that subjects with ASD in adulthood have experienced throughout their lives. Additionally, we collected data to analyze and identify factors that impact outcomes for subjects with ASD.
Method: A total of 503 subjects with ASD in adulthood, along with their families and clinicians, were interviewed to collect comprehensive data on demographic, clinical, and functional variables. Data were analyzed using regression models to identify factors independently associated with global functioning, measured through the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale.
Results: We identified internal and external factors that significantly impacted the global functioning of ASD people.
The analysis identified multiple factors significantly affecting global functioning, including levels of communication, psychiatric comorbidities, social relationships, use of interventions, and living and employment status. The study highlights the critical role of both individual and contextual elements in shaping outcomes.
Conclusions: Our study represents an exploratory investigation of outcomes for ASD adults. It underscores the importance of personalized and targeted interventions to improve the quality of life and overall functioning of subjects with ASD in adulthood. The findings advocate for further research to address gaps in understanding and to design interventions tailored to diverse needs.