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Autistic Health: Improving Access to Healthcare

Learn how to improve quality of life for autistic people and overcome the barriers they face in accessing healthcare, with the University of Kent.

Duration

4 weeks

Weekly study

3 hours

100% online

How it works

Included in an ExpertTrack

Course 3 of 4

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Learn more about the physical and mental health of autistic people

On this four-week course, you’ll learn about the many co-existing conditions that are common in autistic people. You’ll explore how these interact with autistic differences and what impact they have on physical and mental wellbeing.

You’ll also examine the interconnection between autistic experiences and mental health, and learn how masking and trauma affect access to healthcare.

Understand the role of intersectionality in autistic wellbeing

As you delve into different areas of intersectionality, you’ll learn more about the multi-faceted discrimination often experienced by autistic people.

You’ll also develop your knowledge of the many barriers autistic people face when trying to access healthcare. You’ll hear about the importance of taking a more holistic view of autistic wellbeing, which goes beyond physical and mental health to consider all aspects of a person’s life.

Equipped with this knowledge, you’ll reflect on potential ways of improving access to healthcare and quality of life for autistic people.

Learn from experts at the University of Kent

Over the four weeks, your learning will be guided by autistic and non-autistic academics at the University of Kent, who’ll share their expertise on the experience of autistic people in the healthcare system.

By the end of the course, you’ll have gained an understanding of the barriers autistic people face in accessing healthcare, and the skills you need to help improve their quality of life.

Week 1
Physical health
- Introduction to physical health issues
  An introduction to autism and physical health. Image: CC BY 2.0, S.Snodgrass https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevensnodgrass/
- Case studies in autism and physical health
  In this activity we present two case studies: Blue and Jeremy.
- Support for physical health
  In this activity we consider approaches to supporting autistic people with co-occuring conditions
Week 2
Mental health
- Autistic mental health
  In this section we focus on autistic mental health difficulties including masking and trauma. Image: MissLunaRose12, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Mental health and intersectionality case studies
  In this section we consider some case studies about autistic people who are multiply marginalised and have poor mental health
- Intersectionality
  This section considers the different ways people may be multiply marginalised. Image: Kurt Löwenstein Educational Center International Team from Germany, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commo
Week 3
Barriers to healthcare
- What barriers do autistic people face?
  Here we examine potetnial barriers faced by autistic people. Image: Angie from Sawara, Chiba-ken, Japan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Exploring barriers to healthcare
  In this activity we look in more detail at barriers to healthcare. Image by Matthew Paul Argall, https://www.flickr.com/photos/79157069@N03/, CC BY 2.0
- Responding to healthcare barriers
  How do stakeholders respond to healthcare barriers? Image by Odolphie from Frome, England, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Week 4
Well-being and quality of life
- The quality of life of autistic people
  This section introduces the concept of quality of life and explores how we might understand this in autistic contexts. Image by Nestlé, https://www.flickr.com/photos/nestle/, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
- Assessing autistic quality of life
  In this section we consider how to measure autistic quality of life
- Autistic joy
  In this section we consider the concept of Autistic Joy