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It has been suggested that individuals with autism are more vulnerable to, and less able to cope with, the effects of stressors than the general population. However, very little work has been done to develop tools such as surveys or questionnaires that assess reactions to stressors in individuals with developmental disabilities. In the present investigation, the Stress Survey Schedule for Persons with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities (SSS; Groden et al., 2001) was completed for 180 individuals with autism, varying in gender, verbal ability, and age. The results demonstrate that the SSS is a valid tool for identifying which dimensions of stress are perceived to be the most and least stressful for subgroups of persons with autism.
Characteristics of persons with autism, including deficits in communication (Lord & Paul, 1997) and social skills (Mundy & Stella, 2000), low cognitive abilities (Prior & Ozonoff, 1998), behavioral rigidity to changes in routines (Lewis & Bodfish, 1998), and heightened perceptual sensitivity (Baranek, 2002), may make this population more vulnerable to, and less able to cope with, the effects of stressors than the general population (Groden, Baron, & Groden, 2006; Groden, Cautela, Prince, & Berryman, 1994). Corroboration for this hypothesis is evident in recent findings that persons with autism display excessive physiological reactivity to environmental stressors compared to typically developing peers (Goodwin et al., 2006) and have increased rates of comorbid anxiety disorders (Bellini, 2004; Farrugia & Hudson, 2006; Gillot, Furniss, & Walter, 2001; Green, Gilchrist, Burton, & Cox, 2000; Kim, Szatmari, Bryson, Streiner, & Wilson, 2000; Muris, Steerneman, Merckelbach, Holdrinet, & Meesters, 1998). Despite a growing appreciation for the role stress plays in the behavior of persons with autism (see Baron, Lipsitt, & Goodwin, 2006), little work has been done to develop tools that assess reactions to stressors in this population. Survey measures that can be completed by informants familiar with an individual with autism may be especially useful given this population's idiosyncratic behavior and inability to provide reliable self-reports about their emotional experience (Hill, Berthoz, & Frith, 2004).
The present investigation examined the results of the Stress Survey Schedule for Persons with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities (SSS; Groden et al., 2001) completed for a large sample of individuals with autism, varying in gender, verbal ability,...