How to improve healthcare for autistic people: A qualitative study of the views of autistic people and clinicians.
Autistic patients and clinicians agree: keep the same provider, adjust appointments, and allow extra processing time.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Mason et al. (2021) talked with autistic people and their clinicians.
They asked what helps and what hurts during medical visits.
The team recorded the interviews and looked for common themes.
What they found
Both groups said the same three things matter.
Keep the same doctor for every visit.
Give extra time to think and use clear, calm steps.
How this fits with other research
Nicolaidis et al. (2015) heard the same needs from autistic adults years earlier.
Hamama et al. (2021) reviewed 23 studies and found the same fixes still work.
The new study adds clinician voices, showing doctors now agree with patients.
Why it matters
You can copy these three moves today. Book the client with one trusted provider. Offer a written visit plan ahead of time. Add five quiet minutes at the end for questions. These small steps cut stress and boost follow-up care.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Research has shown that on average, autistic people are more likely to die earlier than non-autistic people, and barriers can stop autistic people accessing healthcare. We carried out a study where we interviewed healthcare professionals (including doctors and nurses), and held discussion groups of autistic people. Our results highlighted several key points: seeing the same professional is important for autistic people and clinicians; both clinicians and autistic people think making adjustments to healthcare is important (and often possible); autistic people process information in a different way and so may need extra support in appointments; and that clinicians are often constrained by time pressures or targets.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2021 · doi:10.1177/1362361321993709