Resilience and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Applying Developmental Psychopathology to Optimal Outcome

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has traditionally been associated with persistent deficits in many functional areas across the life span. However, recent work suggests that some individuals initially diagnosed with ASD can later achieve functioning in normative ranges, a phenomenon referred to as optimal outcome (OO) or, effectively, recovery from ASD. This review of the existing literature examines empirical support for OO, conceptual and methodological limitations, long-term functioning, residual deficits, and potential predictors from a developmental psychopathology perspective. Given that the majority of the extant literature on OO has been heretofore descriptive, a resilience framework is proposed as the guide with which to explore the mechanisms behind OO. With an emphasis on interactions among modifiable environmental and individual factors, future research directions and clinical implications are discussed.

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