Same Transition, Different Perspectives: Comparing Dyadic Interviews with Autistic Young Adults and Parents

Introduction:

The transition to young adulthood can be a turbulent life stage, and this is often magnified for autistic youth. Young adults frequently profess different goals and values than their parents. While there is some indication in autism research about how parents, and to a lesser extent, autistic young adults, feel about this transition, little research leverages dyadic interviews with both populations or has used this method with Black and/or low-income families.

Method:

We conducted four sets of dyadic interviews with autistic young adults and their parents who live together.

Results:

We identified three key themes that both groups found important to the transition: independence, structured transition, and interpersonal relationships. However, we found that how the groups conceptualized these themes were divergent and revealed differences in goals and values. Parents were more oriented toward long-term normative views of fulfillment, whereas young adults spoke about what was meaningful to them currently.

Conclusion:

This work has implications for changes to how autism research will conceptualize the transition to young adulthood and how we can create better social opportunities for this population.