Cogent Mental Health

Autistic Flourishing: Beyond the Deficit Model

This Article Collection focuses on research and perspectives that shape our understanding of autistic flourishing. Flourishing, more than its historic positioning as simple happiness, is a state of encompassing well-being. This hygiological endeavour sits in contrast to the pathological focus of many mental health subfields, in that it philosophically and pragmatically centers mental health and well-being rather than mental deviance or dysfunction.

Autistic flourishing, then, is the application of these biopsychosocial constructs to the lives of autistic people. Current research indicates that flourishing may present differently in autistic people than in non-autistic people, including along the intersecting lines of both ability (cognitive and linguistic) and gender. This Article Collection serves to collect research focused on this autistic eudaimonic.

In recent years, researchers have identified that the idea of human flourishing has rarely been considered in the context of autistic people. The prevailing historical model of understanding autism has been within a disease/cure paradigm, the status quo of which has only been recently disrupted by the neurodiversity and autism-acceptance movements. Bodies of research thrive when diverse perspectives are considered.

The ways in which we regularly think about a population of people are important because they shape our stereotypes, assumptions, and the products that flow from these mental images (e.g., policy, research, intervention). If the prevailing clinical and social understandings of autistic people are deficit-oriented, then our internal models of autistic people will be naturally focused on deficits. Sitting in stark contrast to this understanding, research suggests that autistic people do flourish and thrive within autistic communities, within appropriately supported environments, and through greater social understanding of autistic ways of being.

This Article Collection invites submissions that span all sub-domains of autistic flourishing, including, but not limited to, those consistent with aspects of Seligman’s PERMA model:

• Positive emotion (e.g., autistic joy, love, hope)
• Engagement (e.g., autistic flow, focus, interests)
• Relationships (e.g., autistic connection, social valuing)
• Meaning (e.g., autistic spirituality, purpose, transcendence)
• Accomplishment (e.g., autistic mastery, success, self-determination)

For this Article Collection, we welcome interdisciplinary submissions from across the developmental spectra (age and ability), acknowledging that there is no one way to flourish and that autistic thriving may present in unique ways from non-autistics at different points in developmental time and space. These submissions may highlight intrinsic processes (e.g., emotions, feelings, identity development), environmental settings (workplace, school, religious/spiritual locales), and/or combinations thereof. We particularly invite submissions that explore and analyze the impacts of autistic spirituality and spiritual/religious community participation, whether in-person or online, on the mental health and well-being of autistic people.

We are seeking submissions of the following manuscript types:

• Research Article (qualitative, quantitative, mixed- and- multi-method)
• Review Article
• Letter
• Method
• Case Report

Please contact Dr. MK Huffman at mary.huffman@taylorandfrancis.com with any queries regarding this Article Collection.

Please be sure to select the appropriate Article Collection from the drop-down menu in the submission system.

Chris Dabbs is an assistant professor of counselling psychology in the Faculty of Education at the University of Lethbridge, where he leads the Clinical Research in Identity and Belief lab. He is the co-author of Understanding and affirming autistic clients: A primer for mental health professionals, available from Bloomsbury. Dr. Chris’ research focuses on radical inclusion of differences and confronting barriers to doing so, particularly regarding autistic people. He is a licensed and registered psychologist in both the U.S. and Canada and clinically specializes in complex differential assessment with a focus on ASD, ADHD, and OCD in adults.

The Guest Advisor declares no conflict of interest regarding this work.