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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Oct 1.
Published in final edited form as: Autism. 2015 May 11;19(7):794–804. doi: 10.1177/1362361315583818

Table 6. Stakeholders' mean priority ratings of ASD research topics from the initial and follow-up surveys.

Initial IAN Adult Survey Research Priority Topics (in order of SR rankings) SR (n=255) LR (n=143) Follow-up Survey Research Priority Topics (based on Pellicano et al., 2014) (in order of SR2 rankings) SR2 (n=102) LR2 (n=60) Pellicano et al. Sample (n=122)
Understanding/ Acceptance of Adults with ASD 4.59(0.7)1 4.66(0.7)1 How people with ASD think and learn 4.74(0.5)1 4.59(0.8)4 4.28(0.9)4
Employment 4.44(0.8)2 4.31(1.0)8 How to improve the life skills of people with ASD 4.54(0.7)2 4.80(0.4)1 4.54(0.8)2
Current treatments 4.33(0.9)3 4.63(0.6)2 Mental and emotional health in people with ASD 4.54(0.7)2 4.50(0.6)5 *4.05(1.0)6
Health care access 4.33(0.8)4 4.59(0.7)3 How the brains of people with ASD might be different from the brains of people without ASD 4.43(0.8)3 4.28(0.9)8 3.87(1.1)7
Education 4.28(0.9)5 4.23(0.8)10 Recognizing the signs and symptoms of ASD 4.37(0.8)4 4.32(1.0)7 4.28(0.9)4
Health conditions 4.27(0.9)6 4.47(0.7)6 How public services can best meet the needs of people with ASD 4.36(0.8)5 4.68(0.6)3 4.59(0.7)1
Financial issues 4.18(1.0)7 4.35(0.9)7 What the future holds for adults with ASD 4.27(0.9)6 4.35(0.8)6 4.43(0.9)3
Federal/state assistance 4.05(0.8)8 4.55(1.0)4 The role of people with ASD in society today 4.17(0.9)7 4.08(1.0)10 4.15(1.1)5
Friendship 4.04(1.0)9 3.88(1.0)13 How to best treat the main symptoms of ASD 4.16(1.0)8 4.78(0.5)2 3.77(1.2)9
Daily life 3.94(1.0)10 4.29(0.9)9 Learning about different types of ASD 4.12(0.9)9 3.88(1.0)13 3.80(1.1)8
Criminal justice system 3.93(1.1)11 4.19(1.0)11 Physical health in people with ASD 4.01(0.9)10 4.25(0.8)9 *4.05(1.0)6
Living situation 3.90(1.0)12 4.52(0.8)5 The role of genetic factors in causing ASD 3.91(1.0)11 4.07(1.0)11 3.45(1.2)10
Romantic relationships 3.78(1.1)13 3.18(1.3)15 The role of environmental factors in causing ASD 3.70(1.1)12 4.05(1.1)12 3.22(1.3)12
Sexuality 3.60(1.1)14 3.32(1.2)14 Finding out how common ASD is (counting how many people have ASD) 3.49(1.0)13 3.38(1.0)14 3.37(1.2)11
Transportation 3.49(1.2)15 3.97(1.0)12

Note. SR=Initial self-reporting subsample; LR=Initial legally-authorized representative ratings about adult wards with ASD; SR2=Follow-up self-reporting subsample; LR2=Follow-up legally-authorized representative ratings about adult wards with ASD. Means (standard deviations) are shown within group based on priority ratings from 1=Not important at all to 5=Very important. Superscripts reflect relative priority ranking within sample (column).

*

Physical and Mental Health were combined into one item (“medical conditions”) for the Pellicano et al. sample.