Being able to be myself: Understanding autonomy and autonomy-support from the perspectives of autistic adults with intellectual disabilities

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Ryan, J. G., Brown, H. M., Borden, A., Devlin, C., Kedmy, A., Lee, A., Nicholas, D., Kingsley, B., & Thompson-Hodgetts, S. (2024). Being able to be myself: Understanding autonomy and autonomy-support from the perspectives of autistic adults with intellectual disabilities. Autism, 28(12), 3092-3104. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613241254432

Publication date: 17 May 2024 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
9
Publication authors identified as autistic
2 / 9 (22.2%)
  1. Jacalyn G. Ryan *
  2. Heather M. Brown *
  3. Anne Borden
  4. Christina Devlin
  5. Adam Kedmy
  1. Austin Lee
  2. David Nicholas
  3. Bethan Kingsley
  4. Sandy Thompson-Hodgetts

Abstract

Self-determination enhances a person’s quality of life and is a fundamental human right. According to self-determination theory, autonomy is one of three basic psychological needs that must be met to experience self-determination. The overarching aim of this exploratory study was to learn about autonomy from the perspective of autistic adults with intellectual disability, including what autonomy meant and how participants wanted to be supported to be autonomous. Participants ( n = 8; median age = 24) engaged in a variety of participatory methods (e.g. discussions, arts and crafts, games) during weekly sessions. These sessions took place over 7–16 weeks and were each informed by a guiding question related to autonomy. Artifacts, video or audio recordings from each session, and reflexive journals were thematically analyzed. The results support an overarching meaning of autonomy as being able to be themselves. Participants identified (1) choice and control, (2) communicating their way, and (3) safe environments as important and showed us how they wanted to be supported in each of these three areas. We also identified having autistic facilitators as an overarching strategy. These results provide a foundation for implementing change to enhance autonomy for autistic adults with intellectual disabilities. Lay Abstract Autistic young adults with intellectual disabilities want to be autonomous but are less autonomous than other people. However, they can be autonomous with appropriate support. We wanted to learn how we can support autistic adults with intellectual disabilities to be more autonomous. We designed our study with help from five autistic community partners to make sure the research was relevant to autistic people and would improve their lives. We talked with eight autistic young adults with intellectual disabilities about autonomy. We defined “talk” as verbal language, as well as non-verbal cues such as body language, facial expressions, vocalizations, and laughter. We did art projects and played games while we talked. We met in small groups over multiple sessions. Our participants told us that being autonomous meant being able to be themselves. They told us three main ways to support their autonomy: (1) having choice and control, (2) being able to communicate in their own way, and (3) being in a safe environment. Families, support staff, and caregivers can use this information to help autistic young adults with intellectual disabilities to be autonomous.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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

Bibliography inclusion overview

These indicators describe the cited bibliography imported for this publication. Cited-reference metrics use the cited-reference total as denominator. Cited-author metrics state whether they use all cited-author occurrences or only occurrences linked to authors already integrated in the AutiHub database. They use cached links between cited authors and authors integrated in the AutiHub database. Last computed: 16 Aug 2026 11:30.

Cited references
47
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
6 / 47 (12.8%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
18 / 160 (11.2%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 18 / 57 (31.6%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 15 / 141 (10.6%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
57 / 160 (35.6%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 49 / 141 (34.8%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
39 / 57 (68.4%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 39 / 160 (24.4%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 34 / 49 (69.4%).
2 cited bibliography entries could not be fully enriched from DOI metadata.
Crossref: not found (1) · DataCite: not found (1)
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