Publicaties
Short report: Recommendations for education, clinical practice, research, and policy on promoting well-being in autistic youth and adults through a positive focus on sexuality and gender diversity KU Leuven
In this article, we propose recommendations on what we can do to promote that autistic people can enjoy their sexuality and gender identity, because that contributes to overall well-being.First, we briefly summarize the existing research on sexuality and gender diversity in autistic individuals.Next, we propose recommendations for how to promote sexual and gender diversity-related health and well-being. Based on what is known about sexuality, ...
The art of balancing: Exploring the emotional experience of parents considering a transition to residential care for their child with severe disabilities KU Leuven
Caring for children with severe to profound intellectual disabilities (SPID) can be an overwhelming burden for parents, leading them to consider outsourcing some of the care to residential care facilities. However, this decision is complex and emotionally challenging for both the parents and the child. This Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis study aimed to explore the emotional experiences of parents when making the decision to outsource ...
The Earlier, the Better? An In-Depth Interview Study on the Ethics of Early Detection with Parents of Children at an Elevated Likelihood for Autism KU Leuven Universiteit Antwerpen
Autism is increasingly viewed as an expression of neurodiversity deserving accommodation, rather than merely as a disorder in need of remediation or even prevention. This reconceptualization has inspired calls to broaden the ethical debate on early autism care beyond matters of efficient screenings and effective interventions. We conducted 14 in-depth interviews with 26 parents of infants at an increased likelihood for autism (siblings, preterms ...
Measuring the prevalence of autistic traits in a cohort of adults living with HIV or taking HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and mapping safer-sex barriers and facilitators: a study protocol KU Leuven Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
INTRODUCTION: Autistic individuals identify with a wider range of sexual orientations than non-autistic individuals, including higher rates of bisexual orientation in autistic men. Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men are at greater risk for HIV. Prevalence data of autistic traits in people living with HIV or using Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV are lacking so far. Such data, combined with insights in barriers and ...
Changes in the early communicative behaviors of young children with significant cognitive and motor developmental delays in a two-year span KU Leuven
Introduction This study examines longitudinal changes in communicative behavior of young children with significant cognitive and motor developmental delays (SDD) and determines their individual communicative trajectories. A second focus of this study is the relation of changes in communicative behavior with motor skills. Methods Data consists of codes resulting from a self-developed coding scheme used on observations of 23 children in three ...