Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects communication and behaviour. Autistic individuals and their supporters are experiencing significant unmet needs from health and social systems. Improving outcomes for autistic individuals and their supporters requires early personalised interventions alongside supportive health and social systems.
Despite the availability of literature on the prevalence and financial implications of autism, an evidence gap remains in the determinants of the burden and increased unmet need experienced by autistic individuals and their families.
As such, this study aims to build a strong policy case for the need to understand the drivers of the social and economic impact of autism across countries. We aim to explore the factors that influence differing prevalence, diagnostic and treatment pathways, and social care systems in the study countries as well as the true value of interventions across the lifespan. Maximising our understanding of the experiences of autistic individuals, their supporters, and physicians will allow us to make well-informed policy recommendations to improve clinical and social care mechanisms in autism and hence, achieve better outcomes in autism management. Ultimately, we aim to understand the value of a shift in focus from symptom management to a paradigm of maximising human potential in autism.
View posters of the Autism Europe Conference: