ArticleJournal of autism and developmental disorders2026
Self-Reported Strengths and Difficulties by Autistic Young Adults.
Article in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Asperger Traits as a Conditionally Adaptive Neurocognitive Phenotype: An Evolutionary Narrative Review.Cureus · 2026Review
- Drawing the inner world: exploring autistic perception through virtual reality art-making.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeThe autistic community has called for a neurodiversity-affirming perspective of autism. By asking autistic adults about their strengths and difficulties, we can expand our understanding of autism by challenging deficit-dominant narratives and moving towards strengths-informed support tailored to address challenges explicitly expressed by autistic individuals.
methodsA sample of 292 autistic adults recruited from the SPARK research match registry responded to the question "What are your strengths?", and 294 individuals responded to the question "What are your primary difficulties at this time?" as part of a larger study. We employed an inductive coding approach to analyze free-text responses and organized coded responses into themes.
resultsParticipants most frequently reported Interpersonal Skills/Traits (43.8%) as a strength and Everyday Life Challenges (39.1%) as a difficulty. Specifically, the most frequently reported strengths were "Kind/Caring/Loving," "Smart/Intelligent," and "Perseverant/Resilient". The most frequently reported difficulties were "Socializing," "Executive Functioning," and "Co-occurring Mental Health Challenges."
conclusionReported strengths and difficulties varied widely among autistic adults, highlighting the heterogeneity of autistic experiences. Autistic adults reported strengths in interpersonal skills/traits and resilience that are not typically acknowledged in current literature. They also reported difficulties across multiple areas of life not directly connected to autism. Our findings expand ideas about what strengths autistic individuals have and advocate for wraparound supports to help autistic individuals access their strengths, reducing the burden of self-reliance through addressing unmet needs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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Registered trials
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.