Autistic adults experience difficulties in functional cognition, including managing multiple task components, resolving conflicts, managing distractions, and organizing information efficiently. The WCPA has promise as a tool to help guide intervention focused on building self-awareness and strategy use to improve daily functioning. Plain-Language Summary: Autistic young adults often experience difficulties with executive functioning that can make the transition to adult life challenging. Functional cognition, the ability to integrate cognitive skills to manage everyday activity, is essential for independent functioning. However, little is known about how autistic adults perform in real-world tasks that require executive functioning skills. This study used the Weekly Calendar Planning Activity to identify specific areas in which autistic adults may encounter difficulty, such as organizing tasks and managing distractions. These findings can help guide therapists in designing interventions that support autistic adults in developing strategies to improve their daily lives.
Sullivan et al. (Tue,) studied this question.