Physical welfare, key dimension of the quality of life in people with autism

From the multidimensional model of quality of life, proposed by Schalock Verdugo, (2003), is framed Network for Quality of Life project, lead by “Autismo España”, whose aim is to determine the conditions which improve the quality of life in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, in order to guide the development of the support services. The starting point is the analysis of every dimension of quality of life from the direct perspective of people with ASD, their families and professionals has been considered. This article focuses in the physical well-being as key dimension of the quality of life. The sample was formed by 276 people from different localities in Spain. A cross-sectional design was used with a mixed methodology of information gathering. Several validated questionnaires were used; Childhood Quality of Life Questionnaire (Sabeh, Verdugo, Prieto Contini de González, 2009); Adolescence Quality of Life evaluation questionnaire (Gómez-Vela Verdugo, 2009), ISMAP questionnaire - Importance and Satisfaction Map (The Council on Quality and Leadership, 1997). The information arising from families and professionals was obtained through discussion groups and questionnaires about every factor among the different dimensions. A codification and qualitative analysis of the answers was made. The results show a strategic description of conditions that favour quality of life, both objective and subjective, of people with ASD, as well as practical orientation to apply the quality of life model to the autism scope, mainly related to physical activity. Families and professionals consider physical activity as a decisive factor in quality of life, as well as health reason, enjoyment and socialization. This project represents the first wide range research on Quality of Life and ASD in Spain