Healthcare Services During the Transitions to Adulthood Among Individuals with ASD Aged 15-25 Years Old: Stakeholders' Perspectives.
Losing the school day is a main trigger of anxiety and obesity for transition-age youth with ID—lock in new structure before exit day.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Ghanouni et al. (2022) talked with families, doctors, and teachers. They asked what happens when teens with intellectual disability leave school at 15-25 years old.
The team used open interviews. People shared stories about losing school routines and trying to find adult services.
What they found
Everyone agreed: school exit feels like falling off a cliff. Without classes, sports, or clubs, anxiety spikes and problem behaviors return.
Families also warned about weight gain. No structure means more screen time and snacking.
How this fits with other research
Gauthier-Boudreault et al. (2020) heard the same worry from fragile-X parents. Both studies echo the same line: lose the schedule, lose calm.
Two big surveys, Eussen et al. (2016) and Heald et al. (2020), show teens with autism are already heavier and less active than peers. Parisa’s interviews explain why the gap can widen after school.
Hamama et al. (2021) counted doctor visits and costs. Their numbers back the families’ cry: transition-age youth with ASD use lots of care, but the care is scattered.
Why it matters
You can write meaningful daytime activities into every transition plan. Ask the IEP team: what replaces the bell schedule at 21? Line up community work, day-hab, or college audits before the last bus ride. A filled calendar is cheaper than crisis meds and ER trips later.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add a "daily schedule after 21" goal to the current IEP and list concrete slots like work crew, gym time, or art class.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Transition to adulthood may have negative consequences for health and wellbeing in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID), but this aspect of transition has received little investigation. This qualitative study aimed to explore the transition experiences of individuals with ID from their own perspectives, and from that of their parents, in order to identify health or wellbeing implications of transition. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 young people with mild, moderate and severe ID aged 16-27 years and with 23 parents of young people with mild, moderate, severe and profound ID aged 16-26 years. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis, deploying both emic and etic coding categories. RESULTS: This study provides direct insights into the issues on health and wellbeing that young people with ID and their parents find important during transition. The primary health implication of transition centred on mental health and wellbeing; young people experienced heightened anxiety during transition, and themes identified as contributing to anxiety included: a lack of meaningful activity following school exit; inadequate support during transition; and difficulties associated with 'growing up'. Problem behaviours and obesity were also implicated. CONCLUSION: The transition from school needs to be better supported in order to ease anxiety for young people during this difficult period.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2022 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2017.09.003