Autism Spectrum Disorder Beyond Childhood: A Comprehensive Assessment of Activities of Daily Living and Social Functioning in Turkish Adults.

This study aims to evaluate the levels of independence and social functioning in adulthood among individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) during childhood, and to investigate the predictive factors associated with these outcomes. Behavioral problems were evaluated using the Aberrant Behavior Checklist, activities of daily living were assessed using the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL), and social functioning was measured with the Social Functioning Scale (SFS). Among 87 participants, only 4.6% (n = 4) were living alone, independently. Individuals with delayed motor milestones, who were illiterate, had lower intellectual levels, or had comorbid psychiatric disorders, showed significantly lower scores on the IADL and SFS. More than half of the participants were dependent in activities of daily living. Increased age, fewer siblings, being born earlier among siblings, earlier sentence formation, earlier acquisition of reading and writing skills, lower severity of autism symptoms, and fewer behavioral problems were associated with higher score in the SFS and IADL. Predictors of independence in activities of daily living included CARS score (severity of autism symptoms), intellectual level, SFS total score, and age at first sentence formation. Predictors of social functioning included CARS score, IADL total score, and age of literacy acquisition. We believe that our article, which, unlike many studies in the literature, includes individuals with varying autism severity and intellectual levels and evaluates the activities of daily living and social functioning in adults, utilizes validated psychometric tests, will contribute greatly to the literature.