Investigating health-related knowledge and independence for physical and mental health conditions in young adults with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract Background Young adults with autism spectrum disorder’s (YA-ASD) ability to manage their healthcare needs is imperative as they transition to adult care. Method This study evaluated YA-ASD’s knowledge and care-seeking behavior for Physical and Mental Health (PH/MH) conditions. Caregivers (n = 501), of YA-ASD 16–25 years completed surveys. This study examined the extent to which YA-ASD could describe and seek care for their physical and mental health conditions (i.e. describing and care-seeking behaviors). Multivariate analyses further evaluated YA-ASD’s ability to and predictors of describing and care-seeking behaviors. Results YA-ASD had high rates of PH and MH conditions. Describing and careseeking behavior was significantly higher for PH versus MH conditions (p  Regression analysis showed similar predictors for describing and care-seeking behaviors regardless of condition type. Intellectual disability and ASD-symptom severity were strong predictors (p  Conclusions Results reveal a need for interventions focusing on empowering YAASD to manage MH conditions.