Improving Autism Assessment Experience for Transgender Adults: Testing the Acceptability of a Guide

The proposed project aims to improve access to affirmative autism assessment experiences for transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse (TGD) autistic adults by developing an accessible guide for providers. Using previously collected data from our team, we will develop a guide for clinicians using an intersectional lens, modeled after previously existing guides on the OAR Resource Guide section. Our guide, called the Trans-Affirmative Autism Guide (TAG) will focus on ways that clinicians can support TGD Autistic adults throughout the assessment process (i.e., starting with referral and continuing through report writing and feedback sessions), including what to language to use, how much to focus on gender, and how to attend to autism and gender throughout conceptualization. After completing the booklet design, we will pilot TAG with a sample of TGD-Autistic adults and a sample of clinicians who conduct neuropsychological assessments to assess the reported usefulness, feasibility, and acceptability of the completed resource. This project will be conducted in collaboration with TGD-Autistic community partners and practitioners.