Wisdom & Identity of People with Autism and their Relations
to Quality of Life: A Cross-Cultural study
Overview: This study
will explore the wisdom and identity of individuals with high-functioning autism/Asperger's syndrome and their quality of
life. In fact, despite limitations in some skills many individuals with autism have high performance in many cognitive and
reflective domains. Furthermore, their positive aspects of personality such as, straightforwardness, honesty, and perseverance
are also unique to them. Considering their abilities, we are interested to explore their unique wisdom and identity.
Participants: Males over 16 years of age diagnosed with high functioning autism/Asperger's syndrome
What does participation involve? Interviews will be conducted in the participants' native language.
Each participant will meet with the researcher for one session lasting about 45-90 minutes and will be asked questions
about their lives, the best decisions they have made in their lives, and ideal exemplars of wisdom. The study will also use
standardized measures of wisdom and aspects of identity and well-being.
Confidentiality: Participants' names will be kept confidential; only pseudo names will be used.
Token of appreciation: The participants will receive a $20 gift certificate as a token of appreciation for participating
in the study.
Contact: Aftab Khan (Human Development & Applied Psychology-OISE, University
of Toronto) Email: aftabtoronto@yahoo.com, or af.khan@utoronto.ca Phone: 416-880-6216
