Older Autistic People, Access and Experiences of Services, and the Factors That Affect This

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Hersh, M., Mery, P., & Dawson, M. E. (2024). Older Autistic People, Access and Experiences of Services, and the Factors That Affect This. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(11), 1535. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21111535

Publication date: 19 Nov 2024 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
3
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 3 (33.3%)
  1. Marion Hersh
  2. Panda Mery *
  3. Michael E. Dawson

Abstract

This paper presents new empirical data obtained from interviews and focus groups on older (50 and over) autistic people's experiences of accessing a variety of services. The involvement of older autistic people and giving voice to their experiences was central to all aspects of the research process. This work makes a significant contribution to the scarce literature on older autistic people. In particular, it discusses the factors that act as barriers and enablers to the access to and productive use of services, the strategies used by participants to manage and improve their experiences, and the success of these strategies. It shows older autistic people as autonomous adults and active protagonists in their own lives, taking action to overcome the barriers they experience to accessing services on the same terms as everyone else, but that lack of understanding and support from service providers and the general public can undermine their strategies. Finally, this work provides a series of recommendations for service providers to improve (older) autistic people's service access and experiences.

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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 11:31.

Cited references
47
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
8 / 47 (17.0%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
20 / 176 (11.4%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 20 / 98 (20.4%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 11 / 139 (7.9%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
98 / 176 (55.7%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 67 / 139 (48.2%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
78 / 98 (79.6%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 78 / 176 (44.3%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 56 / 67 (83.6%).
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