Stepping Out of Isolation: Autistic People and COVID-19

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Houting, J. d. (2020). Stepping Out of Isolation: Autistic People and COVID-19. Autism in Adulthood, 2(2), 103-105. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2020.29012.jdh

Publication date: 16 Apr 2020 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

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1
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 1 (100.0%)
  1. Jacquiline den Houting *

Abstract

When I received the e-mail inviting me to author this editorial, I was halfway through my second day of self-imposed isolation. A COVID-19-related lockdown was not yet in place in my area, but I had developed mild cold symptoms and chosen to err on the side of caution. Between responding to e-mails and writing an ethics application, that day I found myself in tears more times than I care to admit. As an autistic adult, the sudden loss of my comfortable work routine was difficult. Coupled with the constant media coverage of illness and death, global lockdowns, and panic buying, the anxiety that I—and ∼40% of autistic people—live with on a daily basis had peaked. I am lucky to have enough privilege that I will likely weather this particular crisis well. I have stable employment that I can continue from home, which will afford me a regular income for the foreseeable future. I am relatively young and physically healthy, meaning that if (or when) I do contract COVID-19, I am at low risk for serious complications. Although I am disabled and usually receive support from various professionals, I am able to look after my own essential daily needs and can get by without that support in the short term to medium term, if needed. I also live in Australia, a country with a robust public health care system that, although far from perfect, is better placed to manage this pandemic than many other countries. And, by lucky coincidence, I bought a bulk pack of toilet paper a week before the panic buying broke out. Despite all this, I am still struggling to cope with the current state of the world. Spare a thought, then, for those who are likely to fare far worse than me during this crisis. (...).

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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
17
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
2 / 17 (11.8%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
5 / 93 (5.4%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 5 / 40 (12.5%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 3 / 84 (3.6%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
40 / 93 (43.0%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 32 / 84 (38.1%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
35 / 40 (87.5%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 35 / 93 (37.6%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 29 / 32 (90.6%).
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