Autistic young adults’ routine travel pre- and post-license

Abstract

Compared with their non-licensed peers, licensed autistic adults appear to report more positive outcomes in objective measures of quality of life, particularly participation in activities outside of the home. We examined if this is due to individual differences/factors or the ability to independently drive. We conducted a prospective follow-up survey study of 16–21 years old in the United States and compared engagement in activities outside of the home over time by licensing status. Our final sample included 111 young adults; at follow-up, 62% did not have a permit or a license, 18% had obtained a permit, and 20% were licensed. Generally, travel patterns were consistent, except for reported increases in employment. The lack of overall differences across groups over time suggests individual differences in resources, barriers/facilitators to traveling, or general characteristics may underlie objective measures of quality of life rather than the obtainment of a license. Furthermore, regardless of licensure status, most respondents were not traveling everywhere they wanted to go, and nearly 80% were interested in a transportation modality they did not currently use. Thus, there is a continued need to support autistic adults’ independent use of various transportation modalities.

Lay abstract

Short Report: Obtaining a driver’s license may not change autistic young adults’ engagement in activities outside of the home

Autistic adults who have a driver’s license say they participate in activities outside of their home, like employment or socializing, more often than those who do not have a license. It is unclear if this is because these adults can drive or if people who obtain licenses are different in some way than those who do not obtain a license. To examine this, we administered multiple surveys to a group of autistic young adults (16–21 years old) to see if their travel patterns changed after obtaining a license. In total, 111 young adults completed our surveys. Generally, we did not see changes in adults’ travel patterns, regardless of if they obtained a license or not. The only change was an increase in employment over time among young adults who never obtained a learner’s permit/license and those who obtained a license. Overall, our findings suggest that individual differences may be why some adults are engaged in activities outside of the home more often than others. We also found that most adults in our sample were not traveling everywhere they wanted to go or using all the modes of transportation they were interested in. This suggests more efforts are needed that improve autistic adults’ independent mobility across transportation modes (e.g., driving, public transportation).