Brief Report: Psychometric Properties of the Patient Health Questionaire-9 (PHQ-9) in Autistic Adults.

The team checked if the PHQ-9 depression form works for autistic adults.

They ran math tests on answers from adults in the SPARK research cohort.

The goal was to see if the nine items still hang together and give a clean total score.

The PHQ-9 kept its two-factor shape and the total score stayed solid.

In plain words, the same quick form you use with typical clients also fits autistic adults.

Greene et al. (2019) warned that many autistic adults feel mental-health labels are slapped on them by mistake. That sounds like a clash, but it isn’t: K asked about lived experience, while C et al. asked if the numbers behave.

Wetterneck et al. (2006) built an autism-comorbidity interview for kids years ago. Their work set the stage for later checks like this adult PHQ-9 study.

Sappok et al. (2015) showed the SCQ works for autistic adults with ID. C et al. now add that the PHQ-9 is also safe to use in the same grown-up group, just for a different target—mood, not autism traits.

You can keep the PHQ-9 in your intake packet when autistic adults come in. No need to hunt for a special form. If the score is high, follow up with a fuller mood check and remember the client may view the label differently than you do.