An Occupational Perspective on Belonging of Autistic People: A scoping review with stakeholder's involvement.

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Abstract

The concept of belonging within occupational science (OS) has been widely acknowledged for its significance in health and well-being. Yet, its evolvement over the years, since its first formal description into the occupational perspective of health (OPH) framework, remains notably limited (Hitch et al., 2014). Autistic people are situated within a neurological variation wherein their capabilities in engaging with others, thus, forming connections, and exhibiting traits such as initiating interactions in unfamiliar settings are frequently challenged following the normative societal expectations as fountained by the medical model of disability; affecting their connectedness and their belonging (Anderson-Chavarria, 2021; Hammell, 2015; Kapp et al., 2013; Vincent et al., 2016). Despite the growing interest in belonging in academic and public discussions, there is a limited body of evidence on how autistic people perceive their belongingness. To explore this, a scoping review will be conducted employing the 6th step as proposed by Levac et al. (2010) by pursuing stakeholders' consultations. The existing body of evidence on the engagement of stakeholders either experts or community members, in validating the results of scoping reviews and advancing them is currently limited. Hence, the aim of the study is to (a) map and synthesise current knowledge and conceptualisations about the belonging of autistic people from an occupational perspective and (b) explore stakeholders’ (autistic adults) perspectives on current knowledge and conceptualisation.

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