"They looked at me as a person, not just a diagnosis": A qualitative study of patient and parent satisfaction with a specialized primary care clinic for autistic adults.

backgroundAutistic adults have complex physical and mental healthcare needs that necessitate specialized approaches to healthcare. One promising approach is to embed providers with specialized training or specialty clinics for autistic adults within general primary care facilities. We previously found that autistic adults who received their healthcare through one specialty clinic designed with and for autistic adults had better continuity of care and more preventive service utilization than national samples of autistic adults.

objectiveTo characterize factors that increased or decreased satisfaction with healthcare received through a specialty clinic for autistic adults.

methodsWe conducted 30-60-minute semi-structured interviews with autistic adults (N=9) and parents of autistic adults (N=12). We conducted an inductive thematic analysis, using a phenomenological approach.

resultsFactors that increased participants' satisfaction included: (1) receiving personalized care from the provider; (2) spending quality time with the provider; and (3) having strong, positive patient-provider relationships. Factors that decreased participants' satisfaction included: (1) lack of access to services due to scarcity of trained providers; (2) difficulty at times communicating with the provider; and (3) system-level barriers such as policies, practices, or procedures.

conclusionOur findings highlight the importance of providers using personalized approaches to care that meet patients' sensory and communication needs and spending quality time with patients to establish strong, positive patient-provider relationships. Our findings also underscore the critical scarcity of healthcare providers who are trained to deliver care for the growing population of autistic adults.