The TRACE Framework: Improving Reporting of Sensory, Communication, and Contextual Factors in Autistic Physical-Health Research

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Srinivasan, H. (2026). The TRACE Framework: Improving Reporting of Sensory, Communication, and Contextual Factors in Autistic Physical-Health Research. Autism in Adulthood. https://doi.org/10.1177/25739581261477976

Journal or book title
Autism in Adulthood
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Article number
25739581261477976
Publication date: 14 Aug 2026 Added to AutiHub: 16 Aug 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
1
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 1 (100.0%)
  1. Hari Srinivasan *

Abstract

Autistic adults frequently report that sensory load, communication constraints, unclear pacing, and unannounced proximity or touch shape whether physical-health research procedures are accessible. Yet physical-health research rarely reports these contextual conditions, limiting interpretability and obscuring who was able to participate. Existing reporting guidelines (e.g., Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials [CONSORT], Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology [STROBE], Template for Intervention Description and Replication, Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials, and Guidance for Reporting Involvement of Patients and the Public 2) improve transparency around study design and outcomes but do not prompt reporting of access-relevant context for autistic participants. Without this information, researchers cannot determine whether outcomes reflect the procedure itself, the conditions under which participation occurred, or whether findings generalize across autistic adults with differing support needs. This article introduces Transparent Reporting of Autistic Context and Environment (TRACE), a minimum reporting standard for physical-health research involving autistic adults. TRACE is intended primarily as a reporting guideline for disseminating research findings, analogous to established frameworks such as CONSORT and STROBE, with the goal of improving transparency in articles and supplementary materials. TRACE synthesizes evidence from autistic health research, participatory toolkits, and related mechanistic literatures to identify contextual factors that influence participation. The framework specifies nine reporting domains, including sensory context, communication access, pacing and predictability, proximity and touch practices, and access modifications. TRACE also includes a reporting checklist, an ultrabrief methods template, and expanded guidance for specialty contexts. As a practical add-on to existing reporting standards, TRACE makes access-relevant context visible, supporting clearer interpretation, comparability across studies, and more inclusive physical-health research.

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 07:51.

Cited references
21
With a DOI
21
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
0
8 / 21 (38.1%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
0 / 21 (0.0%)
References with detected author names
21 / 21 (100.0%)
Without detected author names
0
Without a structured title
0
Without a stable identifier
0
References with raw author names still to review
0
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
153
From DOI or external metadata
153
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
85 / 153 (55.6%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 68 / 153 (44.4%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
31 / 153 (20.3%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 31 / 85 (36.5%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 17 / 120 (14.2%).
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