Overview

You can help improve autistic health and wellbeing by understanding and responding to common co-occurring conditions. Some of these will represent strengths, such as intellectual giftedness and specialist skills, while others. may negatively impact quality of life, especially given the health inequities autistic people face (Hwang et al., 2019). 

This eLearning activity aims to assist you to identify strengths and challenges associated with autism, to enable you to support a positive autistic identity, and break down healthcare barriers, where present and relevant.  

Additionally, you are encouraged to review the Australian government’s 2025-2035 National Roadmap to Improve the Health and Mental Health of Autistic People which focuses on neurodiversity-affirming practice, intersectionality, co-occurring conditions, autistic burnout and lived-experience, with emphasis on autistic-led/participatory research.

Contributors 

The APS gratefully acknowledges the significant contributions, in time and expertise of the Expert Reference Group, consisting of the following Australian psychologists and educators:  Dr Jessica Paynter, Dr Rachelle Wicks, and Angela North. 

Series

This series consists of the following separate modules which provide content on aetiology, epidemiology, assessment, and differential diagnoses to inform and evaluate practice:

1. Autism Foundations,

2. Assessment and identification, and

3. Identifying co-occurring conditions. 

Level of Learning

Foundational/Intermediate. This activity is targeted to those new to the topic and those who have some previous learning on the topic.

Duration of access

Access to this eLearning activity is for 6 months from the date of confirmed registration.

APS CPD-Approved

This eLearning activity has been assessed against the APS Standards for CPD activities and approved for its education quality. Learn more about the APS CPD Approval process.

CPD Frequently Asked Questions

Refer to the APS CPD Frequently Asked Questions for general and technical information when undertaking APS Professional development activities.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this eLearning activity, participants should be able to:

• articulate a neuro-affirming approach to supporting autistic individuals, including its distinction from the medical model, and identify how this approach fosters greater well-being and inclusion,

• recognize signs and symptoms of common co-occurring medical and genetic conditions and understand their impact on overall health and wellbeing,

• identify cognitive and reasoning differences related to giftedness, intellectual disabilities, and conditions such as Fragile X Syndrome,

• affirm and respect autistic differences in communication styles, reflecting on how to adapt communication practices to promote inclusion,

• examine the individual and environmental factors that contribute to mental health challenges and how you can contribute to better outcomes,

• combine a Functional Behavioural Analysis with a neuro-affirming approach for best practice response to behaviours of concern,

• explore the bidirectional relationship between sleep quality and physical/mental health outcomes in autistic individuals, and

• critically assess current barriers and facilitators to healthcare access for autistic individuals, and plan actionable strategies to improve access within practice.