Healthcare Professionals’ Knowledge, Experience, and Training in Caring for Autistic Adults: A Systematic review

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. two authors of this publication are identified as autistic in the project.

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Rigney, F., Kinsella, S., Moylan, M., Dooly, Z., Doherty, M., Rinehart, N., & Gooney, M. (2026). Healthcare Professionals’ Knowledge, Experience, and Training in Caring for Autistic Adults: A Systematic review. Journal of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, 5(1), 53-72. https://doi.org/10.33700/jhrs.5.1.224

Journal or book title
Journal of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Publisher
Alma Mater Europaea University
Volume
5
Issue
1
Pages
53-72
Publication date: 17 May 2026 Added to AutiHub: 6 Aug 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
7
Publication authors identified as autistic
2 / 7 (28.6%)
  1. Fiona Rigney *
  2. Sharon Kinsella
  3. Mary Moylan
  4. Zeta Dooly
  1. Mary Doherty *
  2. Nicole Rinehart
  3. Martina Gooney

Abstract

Introduction: Autistic adults experience high rates of co-occurring physical and mental health conditions and often face unmet needs in all healthcare settings due to communication differences, sensory sensitivities, and atypical presentations. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) play a central role in addressing these needs; however, evidence suggests there are significant gaps in autism-specific knowledge and training. Aim: Examine HCPs knowledge, experience, and training related to caring for autistic adults. Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. Studies were retrieved from five databases (Scopus, PsycINFO, PubMed, Medline and Web of Science). Nineteen studies were included in the final analysis. Results: Findings across studies indicated that HCPs possess limited and inconsistent autism-specific knowledge, and have common deficits, with notable gaps in communication, recognition of autistic adults, and management of sensory and co-occurring health needs. Clinical experience caring for autistic adults was variable and often limited. Autism-specific training was inconsistent and typically brief, with between one-third and three-quarters of HCPs reporting unmet training needs. Conclusion: This review highlighted substantial gaps in HCPs’ autism-specific knowledge, training, and experience, contributing to barriers in healthcare for autistic adults Findings highlight a clear need for standardised, evidence-based autism education across undergraduate training and continuing professional development. Future work is needed to establish coherent structured curricula with the meaningful involvement of autistic adults in the design and delivery of training and education to support person-centred healthcare.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 17:07.

Cited references
38
With a DOI
36
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
2
5 / 38 (13.2%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
2 / 38 (5.3%)
References with detected author names
36 / 38 (94.7%)
Without detected author names
2
Without a structured title
2
Without a stable identifier
2
References with raw author names still to review
2
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
308
From DOI or external metadata
308
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
6
82 / 308 (26.6%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 226 / 308 (73.4%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
12 / 308 (3.9%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 12 / 82 (14.6%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 8 / 289 (2.8%).
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