Editorial

Abstract

This special edition of Child Care in Practice presents a range of articles that consider how the wellbeing of children on the autism spectrum can be promoted. This is considered from different perspectives and in different settings, including in education and healthcare. A consistent theme is the importance of environmental factors and adaptations that can be made at this level to promote wellbeing, as well as interventions that more directly focus on the individual child. The first two papers in this special edition address important and commonly co-occurring issues associated with autism. In the first paper, Donaghy et al. (2022) present a narrative review of co-occurring physical health issues associated within neurodivergent populations, including Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Joint hypermobility syndrome, pain, and gastro-intestinal problems. The authors discuss the impact such conditions can have on the educational experiences of children on the autism spectrum, as well as barriers to obtaining appropriate support. The paper provides recommendations for key stakeholders to support such health issues, such as making environmental adaptations (e.g. to accommodate sensory processing differences), interoceptive training for the young people with health conditions, and the need for better awareness of co-occurring health issues for those that support these young people. In the second paper, Dr Nicola Cann (2022) discusses sleep problems in autism, including their aetiology and interventions to address such issues in children and adolescents on the autism spectrum. The author highlights the high prevalence of sleep issues in autism and the impact on quality of life this can have. Sleep issues are also linked to core aspects of difference in autism, such as social relationships and repetitive behaviours, as well as anxiety. The paper concludes that adopting a person-centred and multi-disciplinary approach is essential when working with autistic children and adolescents with sleep issues. The third and fourth papers identify contemporary recommendations for supporting neurodiversity both in medical settings, related to sensory processing challenges individuals with autism may experience, as well as discussing broader implications of supporting neurodiversity for individuals with autism. In the third paper (Williams et al., 2022), one author describes first-hand experience as an autistic individual receiving inpatient mental health services as an adolescent, while another is an adoptive parent of children with complex needs as well as a licensed psychotherapist specializing in children and family issues. The paper also discusses differences between traditional person-first terminology and identity-first language utilized throughout the paper, as does the fourth paper, through a contemporary lens. Through qualitative research methodology, the authors detail aspects of inpatient hospital stays that can be particularly aversive for autistic individuals from a sensory perspective, as well as identified accommodations and solutions that may decrease the stress level for the autistic individual. The fourth paper (Izuno-Garcia et al., 2022) discusses the neurodiversity movement moving from person-first to identify-first language for some autistic self-advocates and reasons for such a paradigm shift. Additionally, the paper details contemporary challenges from an autistic individual as well as family perspective on the facilitators and barriers in the evaluation process to arrive at a diagnosis, disclosure of diagnosis to adolescents and recent research on quality of life into adulthood with receiving a diagnosis as a child or