Self-Reported Strengths and Difficulties by Autistic Young Adults

The 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.

A 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.

Participants 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."

Reported 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.