Autism a greater problem now than before? On autism, school performance and mental health issues over time
GNC's Sebastian Lundström discusses his new project on autism.
Welcome Sebastian, please tell us a bit about yourself.
Certainly, I have been a researcher at the GNC for approximately 10 years, and I am licensed psychologist who graduated from Lund University in 2007. In May 2011 I defended my PhD thesis named “Autistic-Like Traits!"
What are your research areas?
My research interest lies within the field of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and concomitant conditions. By employing twin methodology it is possible, among other things, to discern if there are any true demarcations between disorders (for instance ASD vs. ADHD), and within disorders (ASD vs. normally distributed autistic-like traits). I mainly conduct research within the field of epidemiology, where the focus is on prevalence questions and transitions to adulthood for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
Sebastian, you have some fantastic news to share?
Yes, thank you Anna, Jakob Åsberg Johnels and I have just found out that we have received funding from FORTE (4 982 000 SEK) for my new research project “Autism a greater problem now than before? On autism, school performance and mental health issues over time”.
Congratulations! What are the research problems and specific questions you want to investigate?
The number of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased by at least 500% the last decades and empirical evidence shows that the reported negative mental health effects of ASD symptoms have increased substantially compared to 10 years ago. Thus, the impairment inferred by symptoms is not merely contingent on the degree of symptomatology but also on the make-up and demands of surrounding context, which seems to have changed during the last decades. We believe that the school setting is one such critical context, which might have changed to the worse for people with ASD. We want to investigate the following:
1. How has the associations between ASD diagnosis and ASD symptoms in childhood and school performance and mental health in adolescence changed during the last decades?
In particular, we wish to test the hypotheses that declining school performance mediates the stronger association between ASD in childhood and mental health problems, and that this complex association is moderated by a) the presence of a formal ASD diagnosis and b) degree of autism symptomatology in childhood.
2. How have individuals who wish to remove their ASD diagnosis in adult age a) experienced the school environment and school performance vis a vis their initial ASD diagnosis and b) to what extent and in which ways the presence of an ASD diagnosis has shaped their understanding of their school experience and their child and adult mental health.
How will you proceed with data collection and what method will you use?
Research question no. 1 will be investigated by using the world’s largest longitudinal psychiatric twin study, containing continuous and categorical measures of ASD, which is augmented with register-based data.
Research question no.2 will be investigated in an ongoing clinical project in which individuals who wish to remove their ASD diagnosis will be interviewed as regards the role of the context for mental health and impairment.
How can this project benefit our society?
Well, currently, it is indicated that 50% of children with ASD do not graduate with passing grades from junior secondary school – and are thus not eligible to upper secondary school, which in and of itself is associated with a wide range of adult mental health problems and hardships in adult life.
What is your overarching plan?
We aim to build upon existing infrastructures and will use both quantitative and qualitative methods. The project group is truly translational spanning over several disciplines and is anchored in clinical practice.
When do you envisage the first research paper being published?
Well, hopefully in December 2024.
