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Publication Date

12-13-2025

Keywords

occupational therapy, leisure, autistic adults, autism

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Presentation: 22:03

Presentation completed in partial fulfillment of a Post Professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate degree at Thomas Jefferson University.

Abstract

Introduction: Across ages and populations, leisure participation is essential to humans and associated with improved well-being, and both mental and physical health (Bishop-Fitzpatrick et al., 2017; Coster & Khetani, 2008; Lapa, 2013). The American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA] formally defines leisure as intrinsically motivating, non-obligatory, self-chosen, and enjoyable activities done in one’s free time (AOTA, 2020). Leisure participation trends for autistic populations are better understood in pediatric populations than adults, but studies rely on neurotypically defined leisure activities. Given the differences between neurotypical and neurodivergent brains, it is likely that leisure activities are experienced differently by autistic adults; thus, research exploring their perceptions of leisure engagement should consider how these adults experience the definition of leisure.

Objectives: This mixed-method study aimed to understand the experience of leisure for autistic adults, including features of activities that result in them being perceived as leisure.

Methods: Twelve autistic adults self-reported their activity participation in activities considered leisure in neurotypical literature through an online survey based on the Children Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE; King et al., 2004). The CAPE, through a factor analysis, divide these activities into five main types: recreational, physical, social, skill-based, and self-improvement type activities (King et al., 2004). Six of the 12 participants elected to also be interviewed virtually to further explore their experiences participating in leisure activities. Descriptive statistics (e.g., frequency, percentage of responses) were used with quantitative data whereas inductive content analysis will be used for the qualitative data (interviews) to be completed outside of the scope of this doctoral project.

Results: The study found that of the 49 activities included on the survey, 94% were participated in over the past six months. Although participation in these activities was high, participants only engage in these as leisure “some” of the time (45% of responses). Suggesting that participation in activities defined in neurotypical literature as leisure is not consistently experienced as such in autistic population. In fact, only 16% of activities in the survey were engaged in as leisure for all the elements of the definition (i.e., self-chosen, enjoyable, and done in one’s free time). Self-choice was the most frequently endorsed reason for leisure participation (37% of responses), followed by being enjoyable (34% of responses) and being done in one’s free time (24% of responses). In addition, 5% of autistic adults responses provided other reasons for engaging in leisure including activity partner, activity type, and immersive nature of the activity. This suggest that the current definition of leisure may not fully capture the experience of leisure participation of autistic adults

Conclusion: Autistic adults engage in a variety of activities labeled as leisure in neurotypical literature but may not experience this participation as leisure according to the commonly used definition.

References

AOTA. (2020). Occupational Therapy Pratice Framework: Domain and Process- Fourth Edition. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74, 7412410010p7412410011–7412410010p7412410087. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001

Bishop-Fitzpatrick, L., Smith DaWalt, L., Greenberg, J. S., & Mailick, M. R. (2017). Participation in recreational activities buffers the impact of perceived stress on quality of life in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 10(5), 973-982. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1753

Coster, W., & Khetani, M. A. (2008). Measuring participation of children with disabilities: issues and challenges. Disability and Rehabilitation, 30(8), 639-648. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638280701400375

Lapa, T. Y. (2013). Life Satisfaction, Leisure Satisfaction and Perceived Freedom of Park Recreation Participants. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 93, 1985-1993. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.153

Synopsis
The study look at how frequently autistic adults experience neurotypical activities as leisure, using an online survey and interview. Despite high activity participation, autistic adults reported that only a few activities were experienced as leisure as defined. Autistic adults highlighted several factors contributing to their experience of leisure relating to the activity, its engagement levels, and participants. The results suggest the current leisure definition and engagement assessment tools may not adequately measure autistic adults’ leisure engagement.

Acknowledgments
Thank you to my autistic adult content experts for support in designing the study, Emma-Jo Szczera and Rachael Castro for their support in data entry and secondary analysis, and Dr. Namrata Grampurohit from Thomas Jefferson University for her support with methodology development.

Language

English

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