Friedman Samantha, Noble Roan, Archer Steph, Gibson Jenny, Hughes Claire
Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Autism Adulthood. 2024 Jun 17;6(2):192-204. doi: 10.1089/aut.2023.0009. eCollection 2024 Jun.
While previous work highlights the links between nature and various positive well-being-related outcomes, the experiences of autistic people in nature have received limited empirical research. Our study aimed at gathering autistic adults' perspectives on the relationship between nature and well-being in both childhood and adulthood.
We used an online survey to capture the views of 127 autistic adults across the United Kingdom. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we analyzed responses to three questions focused on nature experiences in childhood and adulthood and how the participants felt that nature was (or was not) related to well-being. Guided by self-determination theory, we used both inductive and deductive analysis.
We developed three main themes to reflect the nature experiences of autistic adults: and . Compared with many other contexts, nature provides a non-judgmental space through which (in both childhood and adulthood) many, but not all, autistic individuals can meet individual needs and experience autonomy, relatedness, and competence.
This analysis of how autistic adults in the United Kingdom utilize nature to support well-being has implications for how nature can be used in social prescribing as well as in ensuring that existing outdoor spaces, organizations, and activities are supportive of autistic people.
尽管先前的研究强调了自然与各种与幸福感相关的积极结果之间的联系，但自闭症患者在自然环境中的经历却鲜有实证研究。我们的研究旨在收集成年自闭症患者对于自然在童年和成年时期与幸福感之间关系的看法。
我们通过在线调查收集了全英国127名成年自闭症患者的观点。运用反思性主题分析法，我们分析了针对三个问题的回答，这些问题聚焦于童年和成年时期的自然体验，以及参与者如何看待自然与幸福感的关联（或无关联）。以自我决定理论为指导，我们采用了归纳和演绎分析方法。
我们归纳出三个主要主题来反映成年自闭症患者的自然体验：以及。与许多其他环境相比，自然提供了一个无评判的空间，在这个空间里（无论在童年还是成年时期），许多但并非所有自闭症个体都能够满足个人需求，并体验到自主性、归属感和能力感。
这项关于英国成年自闭症患者如何利用自然来促进幸福感的分析，对于自然在社会处方中的应用，以及确保现有户外空间、组织和活动对自闭症患者友好具有启示意义。
