Date: November 4th, 2025 12:30-1:30 pm
Location: Language Science Center at UMD, 2130 H.J. Patterson Hall
Zoom Link: go.umd.edu/umarc-talk-zoom
Speaker: Goldie McQuaid
Risk and resilience among autistic adults: Mental health challenges, cognitive changes, and strengths-based strategies used in navigating a neurotypical-majority world
Depression and anxiety are among the most common co-occurring psychiatric conditions in autistic adults, occurring at significantly elevated rates compared to general population estimates. Reasons for increased rates of these disabling conditions in autism are unclear. Emerging evidence further suggests that some autistic people experience markedly elevated aging-related cognitive challenges, including earlier than non-autistic people. The factors that might confer elevated risks for mental health problems and aging-related cognitive problems are unclear. The first part of this talk focuses on some candidate factors. While autistic adults have enhanced vulnerabilities to certain mental health and cognitive challenges, they also demonstrate strengths that may help to support resilience in the face of these challenges. Derived from work that centers autistic perspectives, the second part of this talk focuses on findings concerning how autistic adults employ strategies related to executive functioning, daily living skills, and sensory processing to access and navigate spaces in a neurotypical-majority world.