Autism spectrum disorder : from institution to community living

Abstract

This study focuses on young persons with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Until recently persons with ASD who also exhibited challenging behaviour were being institutionalized in mental health institutions. As a consequence, their quality of life was impoverished and they were never given the opportunity to reach their full potential. This study investigated the benefits enjoyed by young persons, who have ASD and challenging behaviour and who live in the Maltese mainstream community. A qualitative research method was adopted using a direct observation with two young persons with ASD in their natural setting and semi-structured interviews with the young persons' relatives and a community home's supervisor. The findings suggest that young persons with ASD should be given an opportunity to live in small homes in the community so that they would have more opportunities to develop their abilities. Several policy recommendations aiming at improving the lives of youths with ASD were presented at the end of the paper.