Living arrangements and community participation among autistic adults: Exploring the possible influences of living alone or with others.
Where autistic adults live shapes both how much they join the community and how satisfied they feel, with supported solo living showing the biggest sufficiency gap.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Song et al. (2022) asked autistic adults where they live and how often they join community life. They used an online survey to sort adults into four living groups: with family, with a spouse or roommate, alone with support, or alone without support. Then they counted how many community activities each group did and how satisfied they felt with that level.
What they found
Adults living with family joined activities less often than those living with a spouse or roommate. Adults who lived alone with support did a similar number of activities, but felt the least satisfied with their participation. Living arrangement, not just support level, shaped both action and happiness with that action.
How this fits with other research
Hamama et al. (2021) used the same survey one year earlier and showed that income, housing type, and extra diagnoses also predict fewer activities and lower satisfaction. The new paper keeps those factors but zooms in on the four living styles, giving clearer guidance for housing teams.
Myers et al. (2015) tracked the same people over time and saw community participation drop right after high school. Song et al. (2022) now show that where adults live in their late twenties and beyond keeps that gap open, so housing choice is a long-term lever.
Adams et al. (2024) found that autistic youth who feel their social life falls short of their needs report more depressive symptoms. Song et al. (2022) echo this in adults: supported solo living yields the lowest sufficiency, a warning sign for mood and mental-health screening.
Why it matters
If you support autistic adults, do not stop at placing them somewhere safe. Ask who lives with them and how satisfied they feel. A supported apartment may look good on paper, yet yield the worst sufficiency scores. Add brief check-ins about desired versus actual outings, and you can adjust support before loneliness and depression grow.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: With the increasing prevalence of autistic individuals, it is greatly needed to examine the factors impacting their community participation experiences. Where autistic adults live and how that may be related to their participation and quality of life is one environmental factor that has received little attention. AIMS: This study explored the association between living arrangements in the community and community participation for autistic adults. METHOD: This study used data from a statewide survey of autistic adults (N = 744) to investigate the relationship between living arrangements (live alone with or without support, live with roommate/spouse, or live with family) and the amount, breadth, and sufficiency of community participation. RESULTS: After controlling for sociodemographic and clinical factors known to be associated with community participation, autistic adults living with family members participated less frequently in community activities over 30 days than those living with a roommate/spouse. However, they experienced similar levels of sufficiency with their participation. Autistic adults living alone with support reported the lowest levels of sufficiency with their participation, although the amount and breadth of their participation were no different from other adults. CONCLUSION: These findings have several implications for providing support to enable autistic adults to participate in the areas that are important to them and to the extent they desire. Future research is needed to gain a better understanding of how interests and expectations for participation may be influenced by living situations.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2022 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104213