Research on autistic adults and adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) often focuses solely on the individual with the disability. However, there are multiple levels of influence on an individual’s quality of life and wellbeing. This panel applies a socioecological framework to highlight the importance of an individual and their surrounding contexts, including an individual’s microsystem (community), mesosystem(relationships among communities), exosystems (indirect environments), and macrosystems (cultural values and norms, such as available infrastructure). Libster and colleagues and DaWalt and colleagues highlight the social networks and caregiver support impacts on mental health (microsystems and mesosystems) in autistic adults. Loeb and colleagues highlight individual support needs and services (microsystems, mesosystems), services landscape (exosystems), and infrastructure/policy (macrosystems) when examining services and housing preferences in adults with IDD. Finally, Marx and colleagues highlight the use of GPS and GIS data (microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems) and their impact on the quality of life for adults with IDD. Together, this panel highlights innovative methodology to increase our understanding of the complexity of adult lives on IDD and its influences on mental health, quality of life, and service needs.
Chair: Brianne Tomaszewski, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Second Chair: Leann Smith DaWalt, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Discussant: Bonnie Kraemer, San Diego State University
First Presentation: Dimensions of Social Support and Quality of Life Among Autistic Adults
Natalie Libster, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Leann Smith DaWalt, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Julie Lounds Taylor, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Second Presentation: Sources of Support for Activities of Daily Living for Autistic Adults
Leann Smith DaWalt, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Marsha Mailick, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Julie Lounds Taylor, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Third Presentation: The Impact of Living Situation and Support Needs on Service Use and Housing Preferences for Adults with IDD
Hayden Loeb, TEACCH Autism Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Fourth Presentation: Using GIS and GPS, Service Needs, and Daily Living Skills to Understand Quality of Life
Alison Marx, TEACCH Autism Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dara Chan, Division of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling, Department of Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;Hayden Loeb, TEACCH Autism Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Brianne Tomaszewski, TEACCH Autism Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill