Post-school social inclusion 101Disability is an evolving concept. Notions of disability as intrinsic to a person
with a focus on deficits have been pushed aside in favour of a social- ecological
model (Oliver, 2013). The preamble of the UN Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disability (2006) asserts that disability is conceived as the interaction
between environmental and attitudinal barriers and persons with impairments. It is
the interplay of these contextual factors that prevents individuals from participating
in society as those without a disability.
Conceptualisations of Autism as a disorder have also changed over time, with
greater specificity in defining criteria and an emphasis on determining the level of
support an individual needs (Mehling and Tasse, 2016). Recently, the fifth edition of
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) introduced a new
diagnostic label of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to replace pervasive devel-
opmental disorders (PDD) (APA, 2013). The updated criteria also require specify-
ing co-occurring conditions, including intellectual disability, language impairment,
medical conditions, or mental health conditions. The emphasis is placed on the
conceptualisation of a spectrum, which means that the population of individuals
with ASD represent a vastly heterogeneous group that share commonalities of vary-
ing degrees for central characteristics of the disorder.
An ASD diagnosis often is a requirement for gaining access to support and
health-related services, and the greater specificity and reduced sensitivity of the
revised DSM-5 may result in adults who previously met eligibility criteria no lon-
ger receiving a diagnostic label for Autism (Wilson et al., 2013). As children with
ASD become adults, there are often general improvements in the severity of Autism
characteristics (Woodman, Smith, Greenberg and Mailick, 2014); however, ASD
is still a life-long disorder (APA, 2013). Although social communication impair-
ments, restrictive interests, and repetitive behaviours are central characteristics of
ASD described in the DSM-5 (APA, 2013), it is the interaction between these
challenges and societal barriers that determine the extent of social inclusion for
people with ASD. The social-ecological model of disability focuses on the level of
support an individual requires and the needed changes to the environmental con-
text to enable full participation (Mehling and Tasse, 2016). Consequently, people
with ASD with relatively low support needs may not realise social inclusion due to
the severity of environmental or attitudinal barriers present in a local context. With
people with ASD comprising approximately 1 to 2 percent of the global population
(CDCP, 2016), governments have a responsibility to ensure that adults with ASD
are included as part of the fabric of each community in which they live.
Social capital: Quality of life and social inclusion
for adults with ASD
Explorations of the meaning and impact of social capital extend back to the late
19th century when Tocqueville first described the concept of social connectedness,
in which people looked out for each other because it was mutually beneficial