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Abstract
This research investigated the utility and practicality of dependency grids for capturing and presenting the dependency distribution patterns of three adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. The investigation also involved family members to explore their level of awareness of the adolescents’ dependency preferences. The grids were analyzed using a range of measures, including the uncertainty index and partial order scalogram analysis. Findings indicate the adolescents had various ways of dispersing their dependencies among their resources and differed in the types of support most used. Additionally, family members differed in their awareness of the adolescents’ preferences. The benefits and drawbacks of the adolescents’ dependency distribution patterns are discussed, as well as implications of these patterns for family members. Ways in which dependency grids may be further used with this population in research and clinical contexts are also considered.
Notes
1All participants with ASD had received a formal diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome from either a pediatrician or a psychologist based on ASD criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), fourth edition (APA, 2000). Given the classification changes in the DSM-V (APA, 2013), these diagnoses are referred to here as ASD.
2The rationale for focusing on adolescent males with ASD was based on the current predominance of males diagnosed with ASD (Krahn & Fenton, Citation2012) and previous recommendations to acknowledge the influence of gender on research findings (Cridland, Jones, Caputi, & Magee, Citation2014a; Hsiao, Tseng, Huang, & Gau, Citation2013).
3From here on, the adolescent participants with ASD will be referred to as “adolescents” and the NTD adolescent siblings as “siblings”/“brother”/“sister.”
4The supplied situations and resources were derived from interviews conducted with 37 participants (adolescents with ASD, mothers, fathers, and adolescent siblings) from 13 families, discussing common challenges and coping strategies for adolescents with ASD.
5In some contexts, ASD is considered a disability; more commonly, however, it is considered a condition (Attwood, Citation2007; Seligman & Darling, Citation2007).