Psychosocial therapeutic approaches for high-functioning autistic adults
Open accessAbstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impaired social interaction and communication skills, repetitive behaviors, restricted interests, and specific sensory processing. Particularly, adults with high-functioning ASD often remain unrecognized, presumably due to their high compensatory skills, but at the cost of high stress, which is often linked to anxiety and depression. This may further explain the significantly high suicide rates and reduced life expectancy among individuals with ASD. Thus, providing support to high-functioning autistic adults in managing core symptoms, as well as co-occurring anxiety and depression, appears essential. To date, only a limited number of evidence-based psychosocial therapeutic options are available, and very few of them have undergone rigorous evaluation in a clinical context. To obtain a comprehensive understanding, a systematic literature search was conducted according to the PRISMA checklist, and only studies demonstrating robust methodological quality were included and discussed in this review article. Although promising initial key factors and methods have been identified, additional evidence-based studies are imperative to ascertain the optimal treatment and evaluate the long-term outcomes for adults with high-functioning ASD.
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The current evidence base supports conceptualizing ADHD-ASD overlap as a distinct hybrid phenotype rather than a mere comorbidity.
“The current evidence base supports conceptualizing ADHD–ASD overlap as a distinct hybrid phenotype rather than a mere comorbidity”
From ADHD in Adulthood: Clinical Presentation, Comorbidities, and Treatment Perspectives (2025) · cites this paper as [49]
The Introduction and the Discussion’s ‘Overall assessment of the current evidence base’ address high-functioning autistic adults, co-occurring anxiety and depression, and psychosocial interventions. Searches for ADHD–ASD overlap and a distinct hybrid phenotype found no passage addressing that distinction in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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- Authors
- Schweizer, T., Endres, D., Dziobek, I., & Tebartz van Elst, L.
- Affiliations
- University of Freiburg (DE)
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Schweizer, Tina
- Venue
- Frontiers in Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2024-01-11
- Volume
- 14
- Pages
- 1265066-1265066
- ISSN
- 1664-0640 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10808656
- OpenAlex
- W4390745133
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3
- FWCI
- 1.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- edoc Publication server (Humboldt University of Berlin) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- edoc Publication server (Humboldt University of Berlin) (cc-by)
- Funders
- Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Behavioral and Psychological Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
- Keywords
- high-functioning autism, autism spectrum disorder, psychosocial interventions, autistic adults, anxiety, depression, suicide risk, compensatory skills, social interaction difficulties, treatment outcomes
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