In a Roundtable discussion, Integrating Positive Psychology and Autism. Proof Positive brought together autism and positive psychology experts to explore opportunities at this intersection, understand the barriers to cross-talk between these fields, and consider future directions in this first-of-its-kind discussion. While limited research exists at this intersection, the discussion made one thing clear: there is endless potential to merge positive psychology and autism services, supports, and research to enhance the wellbeing of the autism community. This publication is dedicated to Katie Curran, MAPP, whose extraordinary vision and life work of integrating the fields of positive psychology and autism to promote the wellbeing of the autism community made this roundtable possible. In the spirit of Ms. Curran’s vision, may this work inspire continued exploration and innovation toward a world where wellbeing wins for all.

Wright, P., Moseley, R., Tomasulo, D., Srinivasan, H., Wilson, J., Woods, S., & Rashid, T. (2024). Integrating Positive Psychology and Autism: A roundtable. Autism in Adulthood, 6(4), 389–400. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2024.38246.pw 

This report presents the case for positive psychology as a path and practice to flourishing with autism. Learn how positive psychology practices can effect positive change in wellbeing outcomes for the autism community.

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Most research on mental health in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) has focused on deficits. We examined individual (i.e., sociocommunicative skills, adaptive behavior, functional cognitive skills) and contextual (i.e., home, school, and community participation) correlates of thriving in 330 youth with ID and ASD compared to youth with ID only, 11–22 years of age (M = 16.74, SD = 2.95). Youth with ASD and ID were reported to thrive less than peers with ID only. Group differences in sociocommunicative ability and school participation mediated the relationship between ASD and less thriving. Research is needed to further elucidate a developmental-contextual framework that can inform interventions to promote mental health and wellness in individuals with ASD and ID.

Weiss J.A. & Burnham R. P. (2015). Thriving in youth with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(8), 2474-2486. doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2412-y. 

There has been limited focus in the disability field on assessing and intervening to promote strengths of character. However, character strengths have received significant attention in the broader field of positive psychology. This paper provides an overview of the growing science of character strengths and explores why and how character strengths are relevant to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and a strengths based perspective in the disability field. We offer key concepts, research findings, and interventions from the science of character that can provide a framework for the intellectual and developmental disabilities field to begin to build on strengths of character to enhance the systems of supports and quality of life outcomes experienced by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Niemiec, R.M., Shogren, K.A., & Wehmeyer, M.L. (2017) Character strengths and intellectual and developmental disability: A strengths based approach from positive psychology. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disability. 52(1), 13–25. 

Poor sleep quality and low behavioral functioning are commonly reported in children with autism spectrum disorder. This study examined the impact of exercise on sleep on melatonin level and behavioral functioning in the population. Children with autism spectrum disorder(n = 55; age = 10.97 ± 1.90) were randomly allocated to a morning jogging intervention group or a control group. Participants’ sleep was measured using actigraphy and sleep log assessments. Twenty-fourhour and first morning urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin were used to determine whether the exercise intervention could elicit changes in melatonin levels. Behavioral functioning of the participants was assessed by the repetitive subscale of the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale–3rd edition. All assessments were carried out in baseline, post-intervention, or regular treatment, and follow-up to elucidate the sustainability of the exercise effects. Positive changes were observed between baseline and post-intervention in actigraphy-assessed sleep efficiency and wake after sleep onset, as well as melatonin level and behavioral functioning within the intervention group (ps < 0.017). However, no significant changes were observed in all measurements between post-intervention and follow-up (ps > 0.05). The findings suggest that physical exercise is effective to improve sleep with an increase in melatonin level. It can also reduce repetitive behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Tse, A.C., Lee, P.H., Zhang, J., Chan, R.C., Ho, A.W., & Lai, E.W. (2022). Effects of exercise on sleep, melatonin level, and behavioral functioning in children with autism. Autism, 26(7), 1712-1722. doi.org/10.1177/13623613211062952 

Strengths-based clinical practices are critical for supporting the wellbeing of individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. The VIA Inventory of Strengths (‘VIA Survey’) is an assessment grounded in positive psychology that may contribute to strengths-based practices. To identify how this assessment is used in clinical practice with individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, we conducted focus groups (n = 15) with clinicians who have used this survey with this population. We also asked individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (n = 36) to comment on the process of completing the VIA Survey. We found that clinicians utilize the VIA Survey with individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disability to foster self-esteem and self-understanding, provide a framework for understanding strengths, communicate across service systems and shape strengths-based interventions. Individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities also endorsed use of the survey to increase their self-knowledge and self-esteem. Future research should address accessibility of the survey to fostergreater uptake and propose standard protocols for independent survey completion.

Schwartz, A.E., Caoili, A., Beasley, J.B., Kramer, J.M., & Kalb, L.G. (2022): Clinical applications of the via inventory of strengths with individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 18(3), 439-338. doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2022.2036797 

We provided evidence regarding the reliability and validity of measures of assets and life satisfaction (LS) for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We identified levels of LS within this population, compared these levels to those of typically developing adolescents, and described the relation between assets and LS. Forty-six adolescents with ASD and their caregivers completed questionnaires assessing LS and assets. Preliminary support was provided for the internal consistency reliability and validity of these measures in adolescents with ASD. Youth with ASD reported moderate to high levels of LS; these were lower than those of typically developing peers. Age moderated the relation between self-reported LS and some assets. Implications were discussed within the context of Schalock’s (J Disabil Policy Stud 14:204–215, 2004) emerging disability paradigm.

Franke, K.B., Hills, K., Huebner, E.S., & Flory, K. (2019). Life satisfaction in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 49(3), 1205–1218. doi: 10.1007/s10803-018-3822-4. 

Positive psychology has begun to foster change in the study of adolescence by directing increased attention to the importance of building on adolescents’ strengths and abilities as a means to promote positive outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between hope, optimism, locus of control, self-determination, and life satisfaction in adolescents with and without cognitive disabilities using structural equation modeling. The results demonstrated comparability in the measurement of each of these constructs in adolescents with and without disabilities. Hope, optimism, locus of control, and self-determination were strongly correlated, and hope and optimism predicted life satisfaction in adolescents with and without cognitive disabilities. The implications of the findings for future research are discussed.

Shogren, K.A., Lopez, S.J., Wehmeyer, M.L., Little, T.D., & Pressgrove, C.L. (2006) The role of positive psychology constructs in predicting life satisfaction in adolescents with and without cognitive disabilities: An exploratory study. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(1), 37-52. doi.org/10.1080/17439760500373174 

Despite improvements in interventions for children with autism, assessments tend to focus on their social, cognitive, and behavioral deficits, without similar systematic examination of their strengths. Strength-based assessment (SBA), which has been used in work with children with milder behavioral disorders, may also have value for individuals who have autism. Although not supplanting usual assessment procedures, SBA provides a method for identifying personal, familial, and broader contextual strengths. Research outside the area of autism has found that SBA can be a useful addition to assessment protocols because it provides specific information on assets that can be incorporated into interventions. Further, SBA has the potential to affect the attitudes and beliefs of parents and educators involved in the assessment, creating greater hope about the ability of the child to function well and contributing to a stronger bond between the assessor, the child, and their family. This article describes ways in which SBA can be added to typical assessment protocols for children with autism. Examples are provided on how to identify and utilize strengths that can be used for planning interventions and for building more effective working relationships between clinicians and children with autism and their families. Areas for future research are also discussed.

Cosden, M., Koegel, L.K., Koegel, R., Greenwell, A., & Klein,E. (2006). Strength-based assessment for children with autism spectrum disorders. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 31(2), 134-143. doi.org/10.1177/154079690603100206 

In the last 10 years sport psychology expanded its applicability in a variety of fields which have helped to address some of the challenges related to high level performance and sport competition. When we talk about performance in its wider sense, sport psychology is able to help develop a better understanding on how strategies can be adopted in improving general human performance levels. This includes increasing the knowledge of key concepts such as motivation, self-confidence and resilience. Furthermore performance in its wider sense helps in the understanding of the impact of stress and arousal and how these can affect both positively and negatively performance levels including appreciating individual differences as well as dynamics between groups of individuals. In this paper performance rather than solely be related to the field of competitive or professional sport has been discussed in people with ASCs and aims to explore how by adopting a positive psychological model in the formulation of individual assessments and subsequent interventions have led to improvement in individual skills, participation, engagement and ultimately quality of life. Positive psychological principles, such as the role of wellbeing and wellness, the PERMA Model has increased our understanding of human potentials, performance and wellbeing. The aim of this paper is to present and reflect on the applicability and benefits of adopting sport psychology models, the PERMA model and positive psychological principles in special education and care settings with the presentation and discussion of their theoretical and some practical implementation in two case studies.

Roncaglia, I. (2017). The role of wellbeing and wellness: A positive psychological model in supporting young people with ascs. Psychological Thought. 10(1). 217-226. 10.5964/psyct.v10i1.203. 

This study examined parental perceptions of the character traits of children with autism from early childhood to age 11. Parents (n=153) provided descriptions of the “best things” about their children on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at ages 3–4, 7–8, and 10–11 years. Descriptions were coded using the framework of the Values in Action Classification of Strengths, with additional traits added as needed. Parent-endorsed traits included love, kindness, happiness, and humor in children across all ages and traits such as perseverance as children entered school. Higher CBCL scores were associated with a lower likelihood of endorsement for Humanity traits. Results are congruent with a contemporary neurodiversity perspective that emphasizes strengths and resilience.

Cost, K.T., Zaidman-Zait, A., Mirenda, P. et al. (2021) Best things: Parents describe their children with autism spectrum disorder over time. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51(12), 4560–4574. doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-04890-4 

The clearest career path to the middle class generally involves access, and completion, of postsecondary education. However, persons with disabilities are less likely to enroll or graduate from college compared with their same-age peers without disabilities. The quality of life of students with disabilities, and their well-being, may be a root cause of low graduation rates. To flourish in life is to both feel good and function effectively. Seligman developed the Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA) model that may be useful in understanding the well-being of individuals. The purpose of this study is to examine the factorial structure of the PERMA model in sample college students with disabilities and then examine the model’s relationship with outcomes important to college adjustment such as academic achievement, relationship problems, stress, life satisfaction, and core self-evaluation. Ninety-seven college students with disabilities enrolled in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) were recruited for the study. Findings support a one-factor solution for the PERMA measurement model. Furthermore, PERMA was negatively correlated with factors associated with college difficulty and positively associated with factors linked to college success. The PERMA model also demonstrated that well-being mediates the relationship between functional disability and life satisfaction. Implications for rehabilitation researchers and practitioners are reviewed.

Tansey, T. N., Smedema, S., Umucu, E., Iwanaga, K., Wu, J.-R., Cardoso, E. da S., & Strauser, D. (2017). Assessing College Life Adjustment of Students With Disabilities: Application of the PERMA Framework. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 61(3), 131-142. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034355217702136 (Original work published 2018) 

Transdisciplinary approaches (TDA) have provided a useful way to assess, formulate and monitor personalized individual strategies which share a common starting point where expertise from different disciplines come together in better and more efficiently understanding the individual’s special needs and their autism. This paper aims to present through a single-case study how shared formulation informing interventions and strategies have been applied by adopting a transdisciplinary embedded approach through the adoption of a model of well-being – PERMA model. Differences between multi-disciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches are briefly discussed. Identification of barriers to accessing learning, evidence-based challenging behaviour profiles, identification of sensory and functional communication needs, a shared understanding of the individual and a consistent resilient team approach are presented and discussed. Qualitative and quantitative outcomes are ultimately presented and discussed with further reflections on the impact for the wider education practice and provision.

Roncaglia, I. (2018). Transdisciplinary approaches embedded through perma with autistic individual: A case study. Psychological Thought, 11(2), 224-233. doi:10.5964/psyct.v11i2.306 

In the current study, we assessed character strengths in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 32) and neurotypical controls (n = 32) using the Values in Action Inventory (VIA-IS, Peterson and Seligman 2004) and explored associations with levels of satisfaction with life (SWL). The most frequently endorsed signature strengths (i.e., five top-ranked strengths within an individual’s strength ranking) were emotional (humour, love) and interpersonal strengths (kindness, fairness) in the control group, the most frequently endorsed signature strengths in the ASD group were intellectual strengths (open-mindedness, creativity, love of learning). Interpersonal and emotional strengths had, however, the highest positive associations with SWL in the ASD group.

Kirchner, J., Ruch, W. & Dziobek, I. Brief Report: Character Strengths in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder Without Intellectual Impairment. J Autism Dev Disord 46, 3330–3337 (2016).  

Parenting a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or intellectual disabilities (IDs) can be stressful for many parents. Mindfulness-Based Positive Behavior Support (MBPBS) is a customized mindfulness program that enables parents and other caregivers to reduce their perceived psychological stress to normative levels through mindfulness procedures and to support children with ASD or ID to self-manage their challenging behaviors through positive behavior support (PBS). In this study, we evaluated whether MBPBS would have differential effects on the stress levels of mothers of adolescents with ASD (n = 47) or with ID (n = 45) and the effects of the program on the aggressive, disruptive, and compliance behaviors of their children. Both groups of mothers participated in the 40-week study (10 weeks control and 30 weeks MBPBS program), rated their own stress levels, and collected daily observational data on the adolescents’ behavior. Results showed significant reductions in the level of stress in both groups of mothers, but no differential effects on mothers of children with ASD or with ID. In addition, significant reductions in aggression and disruptive behavior and increases in compliance behaviors were observed in the adolescents in both groups. The results suggest that MBPBS is equally beneficial for mothers of adolescents with ASD or ID. In the present study, although the mothers of children with ID had slightly higher levels of stress at baseline and mothers of children with ASD had lower levels of stress following the MBPBS program, the program can be considered equally effective in reducing the stress levels of both groups of mothers. This suggests that the program may be effective regardless of baseline levels of mothers’ stress.

Singh, N.N., Lancioni, G.E., Karazsia, B.T., Myers, R.E., Hwang, Y.S., & Analayo, B. (2019) Effects of mindfulness-based positive behavior support (MBPBS) training are equally beneficial for mothers and their children with autism spectrum disorder or with intellectual disabilities. Frontiers in Psycholgy, 10, 1-13. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00385 

The objective of this review is to provide a narrative summary of risk and resiliency in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) over the lifespan. In recent years, much has been learned about risk factors for ASD which include both genetic and environmental mechanisms. Resiliency in ASD is much less studied but examples can be gleaned by exploring studies that allow for heterogeneity in causation and outcome. Possible examples come from the literature on sex difference, infant siblings, and natural history. Exciting translational opportunities can be achieved through a greater focus on understanding protective factors and resiliency in ASD than the field’s almost exclusive focus on risk factors and the ability to predict poor outcomes. Although the exact nature of processes that protect in ASD are not yet known, putting a resiliency lens on research and clinical practice may prove illuminating.

Szatmari, P. (2017). Risk and resilience in autism spectrum disorder: A missed translational oppurtunity? Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 60(3), 225-229. doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.13588 

Purpose of review: All people-including Autistic people-deserve to live flourishing lives. But what does a flourishing life look like for Autistic people? We suggest that the hidden biases, methodological errors, and key assumptions of autism science have obscured answers to this question. Here, we seek to initiate a broader discussion about what the foundations for a good Autistic life might be and how this discussion might be framed. Recent findings: We identify five ways in which autism science can help us all to secure those foundations, including by (1) giving Autistic well-being prominence in research, (2) amplifying Autistic autonomy, (3) attending better to everyday experiences, (4) acknowledging context, and (5) working in partnership with Autistic people and their families and allies to ensure that they are at the heart of research decision-making. Such an approach would direct the focus of autism research to help shape good Autistic lives. Keywords: Autonomy; Ethics; Medical model; Neurodiversity.

Pellicano, E., & Heyworth, M. (2023). The Foundations of Autistic Flourishing. Current psychiatry reports, 25(9), 419–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-023-01441-9