Journal Articles

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915

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Start date: 2024Subject: search.filters.subject.Autism spectrum disorder

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    Navigating Outward Bound: a first-person exploration of situational exposure through an autistic lens
    (Springer Nature on behalf of Outdoor Education Australia, 2025-02-18) Newcombe N; Good GA
    This article explores the first author’s experience as an autistic woman attending a five-day Professional Leadership course at Outward Bound in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Through a first-person autoethnographic narrative, Nicolina shares why she chose Outward Bound and how she navigated the challenges of situational exposure in a physically and socially demanding outdoor education program, using accommodations to maximise time in the learning zone. She discusses the sensory sensitivities and need for routines that often accompany Autism Spectrum Disorder and demonstrates how she adapted and advocated for her needs while participating in a mainstream course. The barriers she encountered and the positive outcomes she achieved are described. Four themes emerged, these were motivation, challenges, coping and thriving through adaptations, and hope. By reflecting on the balance between growth and anxiety within the comfort zone model, this article offers insights for autistic people, outdoor educationalists, and practitioners. Recommendations call for increased awareness and flexibility in accommodating neurodivergent people in adventure education contexts.
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    Using network analysis to identify factors influencing the heath-related quality of life of parents caring for an autistic child
    (Elsevier Ltd., 2024-09-01) Shepherd D; Buchwald K; Siegert RJ; Vignes M
    BACKGROUND: Raising an autistic child is associated with increased parenting stress relative to raising typically developing children. Increased parenting stress is associated with lower parent wellbeing, which in turn can negatively impact child wellbeing. AIMS: The current study sought to quantify parenting stress and parent health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the autism context, and further understand the relationship between them by employing a relatively novel statistical method, Network Analysis. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: This cross-sectional study involved 476 parents of an autistic child. Parents completed an online survey requesting information on parent and child characteristics, parent's perceptions of their autistic child's symptoms and problem behaviours, and assessed their parenting stress and HRQOL. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Relative to normative data, parent HRQOL was significantly lower in terms of physical health and mental wellbeing. The structure extracted by the Network Analysis indicated that child age and externalising behaviours were the main contributors to parenting stress, and that externalising behaviours, ASD core behavioural symptoms, and parenting stress predicted HRQOL. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Parental responses to child-related factors likely determine parent HRQOL. Findings are discussed in relation to the transactional model, emphasising the importance of both parent and child wellbeing.