Positive psychology is the scientific study of human strengths and virtues, founded on the belief that we ought to apply the same scientific rigor used to understand human suffering and mental illness to study human happiness and mental health. Proof Positive’s aim is to spread the science and skills of happiness across the autism community.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
