Older autistic people and ICT: experiences, attitudes and support needs

The paper presents new empirical data on the experiences, attitudes to technology and support needs of 78 autistic people aged 50–79. The mixed methods approach involved parallel qualitative and quantitative data collection from a single survey instrument. The work makes a significant contribution to the scarce literature on older autistic people and, in particular, the almost non-existent literature on older autistic people and information and communication technology (ICT) use. It provides both statistical data and gives older autistic people a voice through direct quotes from them, which show them making choices about ICT use and experiencing barriers due to poor technology design, which does not take into account their sensory and other accessibility requirements. They strongly preferred websites on laptops or desktops to other options, followed by apps on smartphones and were interested in a number of customisation options, linked to managing sensory issues and making information easier to see. 50–59 year old participants had greater technology experience and expertise, greater interest in the proposed technology solutions and stronger preferences for most of the proposed customisation options than 60–79 year old ones and most of the differences were statistically significant.