Bridget Huynh 10/25/2022 ISM 6th

Resilience and Coping Strategies in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder:

January 25, 2022
Recently, new developments have developed under various research regarding
individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is well-known how ASD affects the
way individuals cope and handle stress, as well as how they act socially and
emotionally. However, not enough studies were conducted regarding ASD, so the
National Center for Biotechnology Information organization conducted an interview in
which 22 participants were questioned about their experiences with ASD. Of the 22
participants, 13 adults had ASD, 5 parents had children with ASD, and 4 service
providers of adults with ASD were from various Canadian provinces. Parisa Ghanouni
and Stephanie Quirke compiled a part studies for a retrospective analysis of resilience
to stressors. They found the impacts of different environments and a person’s
personality trait may influence how one copes. The study showed that ASD is likely to
develop ASD specific resilience and coping strategies for a wide range of stressors. The
biggest factor that influenced all subjects of the study was how individuals with ASD
dealt with societal expectations and conformity. The three common themes from this
subject were the societies’ attitudes towards adults with ASD, the common inaccurate
generalization of abilities, and the need to feel included with respective expectations.
This article is related to my mentorship and field of study as it discusses
behaviors that stem from ASD. Although Pediatricians deal with children and the
participants in the study were adults, many coping strategies adults have been shared
from their childhood. Also, my mentorship project revolves around the idea of mental
and physical disorders that may affect how a parent or child acts in the clinic. This study
dives deeper into the coping strategies of adults with ASD, but the same would apply to
individuals with ASD who walk into a clinical environment. If a person has an ailment or
they a child feels threatened by the doctor, the environment becomes very stressful. It’ll
be normal to see a child cope, but the way a child with ASD copes will vary. While a
child without ASD may throw a tantrum, children with ASD can go so far as to fight
back, but as the study shows, society and doctors must learn to accept and work with
this. Therefore, it’ll benefit me and other doctors to review the coping strategies of
adults as it may help them better understand the coping strategies of children.
I think this study is very inclusive and the results of this study should be taken
more into consideration. For starters, even though it is the 21 st century, and our country
speaks of equality, every American would know that minorities still aren’t represented
enough. While many times we look to minorities as a racial feature, minorities also
include those facing disabilities and disadvantages. Therefore, when faced with a
unique situation in a person must interact with someone with a mental disadvantage like
a person with ASD, very few will know how to act. This study shows the importance of
societal acceptance and brings attention to the difficulties people with mental disorders
face. I find that this study is not important in the community and in professional settings,
but this information affect medical treatments. While the severity of ASD will differ from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8788904/
Bridget Huynh 10/25/2022 ISM 6th

child to child, the presence of stressors and aiding in the way they cope will help calm a
child and improve work efficiency. Therefore, this article was very insightful and useful
in various areas of the world.

Reference

Ghanouni, Parisa, and Quirke, Stephanie. “Resilience and Coping Strategies in Adults
with Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders,
Springer US, 25 Jan. 2022,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8788904/.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8788904/