The importance of home: Satisfaction with accommodation, neighborhood, and life in adults with autism

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Scheeren, Anke M
Howlin, Patricia
Bartels, Meike
Krabbendam, Lydia
Begeer, Sander
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2021
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Abstract

Although good quality housing and a socially cohesive neighborhood are associated with a higher well-being in the general population, housing is a rarely studied topic in autism research. In the present study, we describe the housing situation of a large sample of adults with autism and mostly (above) average intellectual abilities (n = 1429; 17 to 84 years), and examine predictors of independent living, accommodation satisfaction, neighborhood satisfaction, and satisfaction with life based on an online survey. The outcomes of independently living adults were compared with those from a Dutch community sample (n = 929). Nearly 80% of the autistic adults lived independently. Older participants, women, and those with higher self-reported IQ's were more likely to live independently. Autistic adults living independently were equally satisfied with their accommodation and neighborhood as the comparison group, but were less satisfied with their life in general. In both groups, higher satisfaction with accommodation and neighborhood was associated with higher life satisfaction. We advocate further research to better understand and anticipate the housing needs of the growing group of adults with autism. LAY SUMMARY: The living situation of autistic adults has rarely been studied. We found that 79% of autistic adults with mostly (above) average intellectual abilities lived independently. Women, older adults, and those with higher IQ's were more likely to live independently. They were equally pleased with their house and neighborhood as adults from a Dutch community sample, but autistic adults were less satisfied with their life in general.

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Autism Research

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© 2021 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in anymedium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

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Clinical sciences

Neurosciences

Psychology

adulthood

autism

housing

independent living

life satisfaction

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Scheeren, AM; Howlin, P; Bartels, M; Krabbendam, L; Begeer, S, The importance of home: Satisfaction with accommodation, neighborhood, and life in adults with autism, Autism Research, 2021

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