Autism in adulthood: needs, interventions, services
Aldina Venerosi
Knowledge of developmental trajectories for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and the outcome of this condition in adulthood are the main concern of family members. First on priority to conduct new systematic and rigorous longitudinal studies for improving our knowledge on outcomes in adulthood, and to collect information on the availability and quality of adult services with ASD. Recent data on health and rehabilitation care services in Italy showed that there is a persistence in referrals of adults with ASD to services dedicated to children and adolescents, and that continuity care programmes are unofficial and rarely obtained by the implementation of the recommendations currently available for the management of care for young people and adults with ASD. However, some significant experiences have been recorded in various Italian regions, but overall, regional programmes do not foresee any agendas on this issue. Finally, more diversification of adult services should be implemented, tailored to the different needs of adults with ASD.
Keywords
Autism Spectrum Disorder, outcome indicators, predictive indicators, organisation of services, transition.