Therapeutic supports in autism: A survey of perspectives from autistic adults and parents of autistic children

Autism, a neurodevelopmental condition with diverse presentations, attracts varied and evolving behavioural and biomedical supports. Across this support landscape, autistic individuals and their families report a wide range of experiences and perspectives. To capture these perspectives, as well as their attitude toward further research, we surveyed autistic adults (age: >18 years, N = 374) and parents/guardians of autistic children/young people (age: <25 years, N = 133). Perspectives from parents/guardians (PG) and autistic adults (AA) tended to converge on favourable attitudes toward individual counselling/psychology (AA:64.4%, PG:69.9% likely to access; AA:84.5%, PG:85.7% supportive of research), methylphenidate (AA:26.4%, PG:30.9% likely to access; AA:53.5%, PG:56.6% supportive of research), and cannabidiol (AA:20.2%, PG:23.3% likely to access; AA:66.5%, PG:59.4% supportive of research). Responses revealed lower relative favourability of Applied Behavior Analysis (AA:26.4%, PG:27.8% likely to access; AA:51.5%, PG:50.7% supportive of research) compared with other behavioural therapeutic supports. Likelihood of accessing medical devices (AA:10.8%, PG:10.5% likely to access; AA:35.0%, PG:34.5% supportive of research) and dietary approaches (AA:15.5%, PG:19.6% likely to access; AA:37.0%, PG:49.6% supportive of research) were comparatively low, although a substantial minority endorsed further research in these areas. Both cohorts endorsed clinical trials across most approaches. These community-informed priorities may help inform clinicians, researchers, and policymakers in aligning future services and studies with autistic people’s values. • Autistic adults and parents/guardians reported their experiences with, and views on, a wide range of behavioural and biomedical supports. • Counselling/psychology was consistently rated highly for both likelihood of access and support for further research. • Research endorsement was often higher than likelihood of access, suggesting demand for better evidence even for supports people may not choose personally. • ABA was less favourably rated than several other behavioural programme options. • The majority of respondents supported further research across behavioural and biomedical supports, including medications and cannabinoids.