Understanding Autistic Adults’ Experiences and Support Needs Related to Psychiatric Medication Use

<strong><span data-contrast="none">Background</span></strong><strong><span data-contrast="auto">:&nbsp;</span></strong><span data-contrast="none">Between 55-94%</span><span data-contrast="auto">&nbsp;of&nbsp;autistic people experience&nbsp;at least one&nbsp;co-occurring p</span><span data-contrast="none">sychiatric&nbsp;condition (Hossain et al., 2020).&nbsp;Psychiatric&nbsp;medications are&nbsp;a common treatment approach (Feroe et al., 2021), yet autistic adults&nbsp;face&nbsp;many barriers to&nbsp;accessing and navigating&nbsp;healthcare services,&nbsp;including&nbsp;sensory and procedural challenges in clinical settings&nbsp;(Mazurek et al., 2020). These barriers&nbsp;likely contribute to their overall experience of lower quality healthcare compared to non-autistic peers (Weir et al., 2022). A systematic review on interventions to address health outcomes among autistic adults identified very little research on the impact of pharmacological interventions for autistic people (Benevides et al., 2020).&nbsp;Understanding&nbsp;how autistic people experience, perceive, and manage psychiatric medication is&nbsp;critical to&nbsp;inform&nbsp;best practices that mitigate barriers to receiving necessary healthcare&nbsp;and&nbsp;improve&nbsp;quality of life and well-being.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}">&nbsp;</span> <strong><span data-contrast="none">Objectives:</span></strong><span data-contrast="none">&nbsp;To&nbsp;characterize&nbsp;autistic adults&rsquo;&nbsp;experiences, opinions, and&nbsp;support&nbsp;needs related to pharmacotherapy for co-occurring mental health&nbsp;conditions, and&nbsp;examine&nbsp;how these are associated with&nbsp;mental health outcomes.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}">&nbsp;</span> <strong><span data-contrast="none">Methods:&nbsp;</span></strong><span data-contrast="none">An anonymous, online survey was developed&nbsp;using&nbsp;the Autistic SPACE framework&nbsp;(Doherty et al., 2023), assessing&nbsp;</span><strong><span data-contrast="none">S</span></strong><span data-contrast="none">ensory needs,&nbsp;</span><strong><span data-contrast="none">P</span></strong><span data-contrast="none">redictability,&nbsp;</span><strong><span data-contrast="none">A</span></strong><span data-contrast="none">cceptance,&nbsp;</span><strong><span data-contrast="none">C</span></strong><span data-contrast="none">ommunication, and&nbsp;</span><strong><span data-contrast="none">E</span></strong><span data-contrast="none">mpathy&nbsp;in relation to medication experiences.&nbsp;Participants also completed brief measures&nbsp;about their&nbsp;support needs (WHODAS 2.0, 12-item),&nbsp;autism&nbsp;characteristics&nbsp;(RAADS-14), ADHD characteristics&nbsp;(ASRS-v1.1), depression&nbsp;(PHQ-9), and anxiety&nbsp;(GAD-7).&nbsp;</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}">&nbsp;</span> <span data-contrast="none">Data collection is underway via a statewide autism research registry affiliated with the researcher&rsquo;s institution. This database includes over 4,000 autistic adults who have consented for contact about research studies. The registry has projected a 10% response rate, to fulfil a target sample size of 400 autistic adults. Data collection will conclude by late 2025.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}">&nbsp;</span> <strong><span data-contrast="none">Results:</span></strong><span data-contrast="none">&nbsp;Descriptive statistics will summarize patterns&nbsp;of psychiatric medication use (current, past, never), the number and classes of medications endorsed,&nbsp;and how these may differ according to self-reported mental and physical health conditions.&nbsp;Linear and logistic regression models&nbsp;will&nbsp;examine&nbsp;relationships&nbsp;among medication engagement,&nbsp;medication satisfaction,&nbsp;and mental health outcomes.&nbsp;It is hypothesized that&nbsp;satisfaction with current psychiatric medications will be associated with lower anxiety and depression.&nbsp;Thematic analysis&nbsp;of open-ended responses&nbsp;will&nbsp;identify&nbsp;barriers to accessing pharmacotherapy for autistic adults&nbsp;with&nbsp;key&nbsp;recommendations for&nbsp;healthcare providers&nbsp;to improve patient experiences.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}">&nbsp;</span>