Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36090460›Full record

ReviewNature reviews psychology2022

A capabilities approach to understanding and supporting autistic adulthood.

Elizabeth Pellicano, Unsa Fatima, Gabrielle Hall, Melanie Heyworth, Wenn Lawson, Rozanna Lilley, Joanne Mahony, Marc Stears

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Nature reviews psychology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
71citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

71 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Experiencing Independence: Perspectives from Autistic Adults.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026
    Article
  4. Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare Among Youth With Autism and ADHD: A Population-Based Study From Sweden.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Autism Stigma and Employment: A Scoping Review.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Supporting a 'good life' for autistic children: Autistic adults' and parents' perspectives.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Article

11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Elizabeth PellicanoMacquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7246-8003
Unsa FatimaMacquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales Australia.
Gabrielle HallMacquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales Australia.
Melanie HeyworthMacquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales Australia.
Wenn LawsonMacquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales Australia.
Rozanna LilleyMacquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-6143-8805
Joanne MahonyMacquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales Australia.
Marc StearsUCL Policy Lab, University College London, London, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

There is little comprehensive research into autistic adulthood, and even less into the services and supports that are most likely to foster flourishing adult autistic lives. This limited research is partly because autism is largely conceived as a condition of childhood, but this focus of research has also resulted from the orthodox scientific approach to autism, which conceptualizes autistic experience almost entirely as a series of biologically derived functional deficits. Approaching autism in this way severely limits what is known about this neurodevelopmental difference, how research is conducted and the services and supports available. In this Review, we adopt an alternative research strategy: we apply Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach, which focuses on ten core elements of a thriving human life, to research on autistic adulthood. In doing so, we identify areas where autistic adults thrive and where they often struggle, and highlight issues to which researchers, clinicians and policymakers should respond. The resulting picture is far more complex than conventional accounts of autism imply. It also reveals the importance of engaging autistic adults directly in the research process to make progress towards genuinely knowing autism and supporting flourishing autistic lives.

Indexed as

Autism spectrum disordersPsychology

Identifiers

PMID36090460
PMCPMC9443657

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.