Safety, Dignity And The Need Of Independence Of People With ASD

Abstract

There is clear evidence that individuals with an autism spectrum disorder receiving mental health treatment are at an increased risk for abuse and maltreatment (Brenner et al., 2017). In addition, the pandemic challenges faced in the last years forced professionals to develop systems to help people with ASD and their families at distance. These variables made clear the critical need for achieving independence for learners across a variety of skills and domains, but specifically targeting personal care skills and routines where either individual are at a higher risk for potential abuse or receive less support from the social environment. Not only these interventions help individuals achieving independence in critical personal care tasks, but also result in increased safety and dignity.