Libbey Walker, a 2023 graduate of the Psy.D. Program in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University’s New England campus has written and published a dissertation titled, Autism Paradigms and Mental Well-Being Among Autistic Adults: A Quantitative Exploration.
Autistic populations experience significant mental health challenges. A growing body of research supports addressing autistic mental health problems using the framework of minority stress theory, the social model of disability, and the neurodiversity paradigm. Walker’s quantitative study explored how identification with the neurodiversity paradigm versus the pathology paradigm related to mental well-being in autistic adults.
Participants completed an online survey in which they rated their identification with autism descriptions representing both paradigms. Participants also completed measures of psychological distress, self-esteem, personal autism acceptance, and internalized autism stigma. The results of this study suggest that a multi-systemic shift to the neurodiversity paradigm might improve autistic adults’ mental well-being.
Read Walker’s dissertation, Autism Paradigms and Mental Well-Being Among Autistic Adults: A Quantitative Exploration, here.
