(PS4-37) Empowered on the Spectrum: A Positive-psychoeducational Group Intervention for Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum

While there are traits associated with autism that are evolutionarily adaptive and positive (Baron-Cohen, 2020), autism continues to carry stigma and misunderstanding (Perry et al., 2021). Autistic people suffer from high rates of suicidal behavior, loneliness, and are more often victimized by bullies than their neurotypical peers (Cassidy et al., 2014; Sterzing et al., 2012). Autistic people make efforts to mask their traits that are noticeably autistic at the cost of their mental health (Hull et al., 2017). Due to the stigma historically associated with autism and the harmful co-occurring conditions including masking that may develop alongside internalizing that stigma, there is a tremendous need for clinicians to support autistic people with making sense of their autism diagnosis in an accurate and positive way. This study is a response to the absence of manualized treatments that guide clinicians to do just this. The present study examined the efficacy of a novel 6-week manualized group intervention titled Empowered on the Spectrum that utilized psychoeducation about the strengths and challenges of autism and evidenced-based positive psychological interventions to integrate the information about autism in a neuro-affirming way. The intervention aimed to develop three proposed components of Positive Autism Identity in autistic adolescent participants: (1) Accurate information about autism; (2) Increased frequency of three positive emotions: hope, unconditional self -acceptance and authentic pride; and (3) Decreased masking behaviors. 

Participants, ages 12.0-16.11, were recruited out of Hofstra University’s Diagnostic and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (N = 9). Data were analyzed using self-report measures: Children’s Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1997), 7-Item Authentic Pride Scale (Tracy & Robins, 2007), Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (Chamberlain & Haaga, 2001), Camouflaging Autistic Traits-Questionnaire (Hull et al., 2019) and Autism Stigma and Knowledge-Questionnaire (Harrison et al., 2017) as well as one open-ended qualitative interview question that was coded before and after treatment: “How do you feel about being a person on the autism spectrum?” A multiple-baseline, small-n design was utilized where each participant’s baseline scores served as their own control and scores were analyzed at the individual participant level. Percentage exceeding the median (PEM) and graphic analysis found that throughout the treatment phase, 8 of 9 participants increased their hope, 5 of 9 increased their unconditional self-acceptance, 4 of 9 increased authentic pride, and 4 of 9 participants decreased camouflaging behaviors. 3 of 9 participants answered the interview question more positively than they did before. Though positive trends in autism knowledge and stigma were observed in 5 of 9 participants, the increase observed was not statistically significant at the group level when a paired samples t-test was run (M = 34.67, SD = 4.53; t = -1.029, p > .05). Overall, this pilot-study found Empowered on the Spectrum to be efficacious, especially at increasing hope and unconditional self-acceptance.