BOOKS

autism / ADHD / Neurodiversity

Autism in Heels: The Untold Story of a Female Life on the Spectrum (2018) - Jennifer Cook O’Toole

Autistic Burnout: A Brief Guide to Recovery and Prevention (e-book) - Jennifer Kemp

Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity (2015) - Steve Silberman

Neuroqueer Heresies (2021) - Dr. Nick Walker

Self-care for Autistic People (2024) - Dr. Megan Anna Neff

Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism(2018) - Edited by Barb Cook

Strong Female Character (2023) - Fern Brady

The Neurordivergent Skills Workbook for Autism and ADHD (2024) - Jennifer Kemp & Monique Mitchelson

The Ultimate Guide to Autistic Burrnout (2024)- Dr. Natalie Engelbrecht & Dr. Debra Bercovici

Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity (2022) - Devon Price

What I Mean When I Say I’m Autistic (2022) - Annie Kotowicz

Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum (2024)- Sarah Hendrickx

Mindfulness / psychological flexibility / ACT

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change, Second Edition (2016) - Steven C. Hayes, Kirk D. Strosahl, & Kelly G. Wilson

ACT Workbook for Perfectionism (2021) - Jennifer Kemp

Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (2005) - Steven C. Hayes

Mindfulness Activities for Kids and Their Grown Ups (2020) - Sally Arnold

Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment and Your Life (2016) - Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindfulness in Plain English (2010) - Bhante Gunaratana

What Makes You Stronger: How to Thrive in the Face of Change and Uncertainty Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (2022) - Louise Hayes, Joseph Ciarrochi, & Ann Bailey

Wherever You Go, There You Are (1994) - Jon Kabat-Zinn

RESEARCH

A note on research articles:

This is not an exhaustive list and will be occasionally updated. Please be aware that some of the research articles do not contain neurodivergent-affirming language and present a deficit-based view of neurodivergence / disability. However, they were included to demonstrate how changes in the behavior of the people surrounding Autistic/disabled individuals (i.e. environmental changes), improves Autistic / disabled person’s well-being.

Behavior analysis: neurodiversity

Allen, L.L., Mellon, L. S., Syed, N. et. al. (2024). Neurodiversity-affirming Applied Behavior Analysis. Behavior Analysis in Practice.

Breaux, C. A., & Smith, K. (2023). Assent in applied behaviour analysis and positive behaviour support: ethical considerations and practical recommendations. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 69(1), 111–121.

Graber A, & Graber J. (2023). Applied Behavior Analysis and the Abolitionist Neurodiversity Critique: An ethical analysis. Behavior Analysis in Practice. 2023 Mar 2;16(4):1-17.

Mathur, S.K., Renz, E., & Tarbox, J. (2024). Affirming Neurodiversity within Applied Behavior Analysis. Behavior Analysis in Practice. Jan 25;17(2):471-485.

Rajaraman, A., Austin, J.L., Grover, H.C., Cammilleri, A.P., Donnelly, D. R., & Hanley, G. P. (2022). Toward trauma-informed applications of behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 55(1), 40-61.

mindfulness

Cooper, D., Yap, K. & Batalha, L. (2018). Mindfulness-based interventions and their effects on emotional clarity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders 235 (August): 265–76.

Donald, J., Bradshaw, E., Ryan, R., Basarkod, G., Ciarrochi, J., Duineveld, J., Guo, J. & Sahdra, B. (2020). Mindfulness and its association with varied types of motivation: A systematic review and meta-analysis using self-determination theory. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin 46 (7): 1121–38.

Fjorback, L. O., M. Arendt, E. Ornbøl, P. Fink, and H. Walach. (2011). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 124 (2): 102–19.

Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S., & Walach, H. (2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 57(1), 35-43.

Noetel, M., Ciarrochi, J., Van Zanden, B. & Lonsdale, C. (2019). Mindfulness and acceptance approaches to sporting performance enhancement: A systematic review.” International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology 12(1): 139–75.

Sercekman, M. (2024). Exploring the sustained impact of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program: a thematic analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 15.

Autism

Aller, T.B., Barrett, T., Levin, M.E., & Brunson McClain, M.(2022). Measuring psychological flexibility in autistic adults: Examining the validity and reliability of the AAQ-II, BEAQ, and VQ. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 26, 125-133.

Cage, E., Di Monaco, J. & Newell, V. (2018). Experiences of Autism acceptance and mental health in Autistic adults. J Autism Dev Disord. Feb;48(2):473-484.

Camus, L., Macmillan, K., Rajendran, G., Prof, & Stewart, M. (2022, May 10). 'I too, need to belong': Autistic adults' perspectives on misunderstandings and well-being.

Crrompton, C., Ropar, D., Evans-Willieams, C., Finn, E., &Fletcherer-Watsson, S. (2020). Autistic peer-to-peer information transfer is highly effective. Autism ,24(7), 1704-1712.

Courchesne, V., Langlois, V., Gregoire, P., St-Denis, A., Bouvet, L., Ostrolenk, A., & Mottron, L. (2020). Interests and strengths in autism, useful but misunderstood: A pragmatic case-study. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1-13.

Gaudion, K. (2016). Building Empathy: Autism and the Workplace. London: The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. Royal College of Art.[Google Scholar].

Gaudion, K., & Pellicano, L. (2016). The triad of strengths: A strengths-based approach for designing with autistic adults with additional learning disabilities. In (Vol. 9746, pp. 266-280). Springer International Publishing.

Heasman, B., & Gillespie, A. (2017). Perspective-taking is two-sided: Misunderstandings between people with Asperger’s syndrome and their family members. Autism.

Lim, A., Young, R., & Brewer, N. (2022). Autistic adults may be erroneously perceived as deceptive and lacking credibility. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 52(2), 490-507.

Maisel, M., Stephenson, G., Cox, C. & South, M. (2019). Cognitive defusion for reducing distressing thoughts in adults with autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 59,34-45.

Milton, D. (2012). On the ontological status of Autism: the ‘Double Empathy Problem.’ Disability and Society, 27(3), 883-887.

Mitchell, P., Sheppard, E., & Cassidy, S. (2021). Autism and the double empathy problem: Implications for development and mental health. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 39(1), 1-18.

Nuwer, R. (2021). Finding strengths in autism. Spectrum News.

Pahnke, J., Jansson-Fröjmark, M., Andersson, G., Bjureberg, J., Jokinen, J., Bohman, B. & Lundgren, T. (2023). Acceptance and commitment therapy for autistic adults: A randomized controlled pilot study in a psychiatric outpatient setting. Autism. Jul;27(5):1461-1476.

Singh, N. N., Lancioni, G. E., et al. (2019). Surfing the Urge: An informal mindfulness practice for the self-management of aggression by adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 12.

Woods, S. E. O. N., & Estes, A. (2023). Toward a more comprehensive autism assessment: The survey of autistic strengths, skills, and interests. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1264516-1264516.

Contextual Behavior science

Chancey, C., Weihl, C., et al. (2019). The impact of mindfulness skills on interactions between direct care staff and adults with developmental disabilities. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 12.

Gould, E. R., Tarbox, J., & Coyne, L. (2018). Evaluating the effects of Acceptance and Commitment Training on the overt behavior of parents of children with autism. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 7.

Han, A., Yuen, H.K., Lee, H.Y., Zhou, X.(2020). Effects of acceptance and commitment therapy on process measures of family caregivers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 18, 201-213.

Hayes, S. C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Contextual behavioral science: Creating a science more adequate to the challenge of the human condition. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 1(1): 1-16.

Raulston, T. J., Zemantic, P. K., Machalicek, W., Hieneman, M., Kurtz-Nelson, E., Barton, H., Hansen, S. G., & Frantz, R. J. (2019). Effects of a brief mindfulness-infused behavioral parent training for mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 13.

Raaymakers, C., Garcia, Y., Cunningham, K., Krank, K., Nemer-Kaiser, L. (2019). A systematic review of derived verbal behavior research. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 12,128-148.

Zettle, R. D., Gird, S. R., Webster, B. K., Carrasquillo-Richardson, N., Swails, J. A., & Burdsal, C. A. (2018). The Self-as-Context Scale: Development and preliminary psychometric properties. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 10, 64–74

Behavior analysis / Health coaching

Caldwell, K. L., Vicidomini, D., Wells, R., & Wolever, R. Q. (2020). Engaging patients in their health care: Lessons from a qualitative study on the processes health coaches use to support an active learning paradigm. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 9.

Finn, H.E., & Watson, R.A. (2017). The use of health coaching to improve health outcomes: Implications for Applied Behavior Analysis. Psychol Rec 67, 181–187.

Frost, H., Campbell, P., Maxwell, M., O’Carroll, R., Dombrowski, S., Williams, B., Cheyne, H., Coles, E. & Pollock, A. (2018). “Effectiveness of motivational interviewing on adult behaviour change in health and social care settings: A systematic review of rreviews.” PloS One 13 (10): e0204890.

Lucke-Wold, B., Shawley, S., Ingels, J. S., Stewart, J., & Misra, R. (2016). A critical examination of the use of trained health coaches to decrease the metabolic syndrome for participants of a community-based diabetes prevention and management program. Journal of Healthcare Communications, 1(4) 38.

Margolius, D., Bodenheimer, T., Bennett, H., Wong, J. S., Ngo, V. K., Padilla, G. F., & Thom, D. H. (2012). Health coaching to improve hypertension treatment in a low-income, minority population. Annals of Family Medicine, 10(3), 199–205.

Milani, R. V., Lavie, C. J., Bober, R. M., Milani, A. R., & Ventura, H. O. (2017, January). Improving hypertension control and patient engagement using digital tools. The American Journal of Medicine, 130(1) 14-20.

Normand, M. P., & Bober, J. (2020). Health coaching by behavior analysts in practice: How and why. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 20(2), 108–119.

Thom, D. H., Ghorob, A., Hessler, D., De Vore, D., Chen, E., & Bodenheimer, T. A. (2013, March). Impact of peer health coaching on glycemic control in low-income patients with diabetes: A randomized controlled trial. The Annals of Family Medicine, 11(2) 137-144.

Thom, D. H., Hessler, D., Willard-Grace, R., Bodenheimer, T., Najmabadi, A., Araujo, C., & Chen, E. H. (2014, July). Does health coaching change patients’ trust in their primary care provider? Patient Education and Counseling, 96(1), 135–138.

Thom, D. H., Willard-Grace, R., Hessler, D., DeVore, D., Prado, C., Bodenheimer, T., & Chen, E. (2015). The impact of health coaching on medication adherence in patients with poorly controlled diabetes, hypertension, and/or hyperlipidemia: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 28(1), 38–45.

act: health behaviors

Biber, D. D., & Ellis, R. (2019). The effect of self-compassion on the self-regulation of health behaviors: A systematic review. Journal of Health Psychology, 24(14), 2060–2071.

Ciarrochi, J., Hayes, S. C., Oades, L. G., & Hofmann, S. G. (2021). Toward a unified framework for positive psychology interventions: Evidence-based processes of change in coaching, prevention, and training. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 809362.

Garey, L., Farris, S. G., Schmidt, N. B., & Zvolensky, M. J. (2016). The role of smoking-specific experiential avoidance in the relation between perceived stress and tobacco dependence, perceived barriers to cessation, and problems during quit attempts among treatment-seeking smokers. Journal of Contextual Behavior Science, 5(1), 58-63.

Gloster, A. T., Meyer, A. H., & Lieb, R. (2017). Psychological flexibility as a malleable public health target: Evidence from a representative sample. Journal of Contextual. Behavior Science, 6(2). 166-171.

Jackson, M. L., Williams, W. L. Hayes, S. C., Humphreys, T., Gauthier, B., & Westwood, R. (2016). Whatever gets your heart pumping: The impact of implicitly selected reinforcer-focused statements on exercise intensity. Journal of Contextual Behavior Science, 5(1) 48-57.

Levin, M. E., Pierce, B., & Schoendorff, B. (2017). The acceptance and commitment therapy matrix mobile app: A pilot randomized trial on health behaviors. Journal of Contextual Behavior Science, 6(3) 268-275.

Martin, E. C., Galloway-Williams, N., Cox, M. G., & Winett R. A. (2015). Pilot testing of a mindfulness and acceptance-based intervention for increasing cardiorespiratory fitness in sedentary adults: A feasibility study. Journal of Contextual Behavior Science, 4(4) 237-245.

Mccracken, L. M., & Yang, S. Y. (2006). The role of values in a contextual cognitive-behavioral approach to chronic pain. Pain, 123(1-2), 137-145.

Yu, L., Norton, S., & McCracken, L. M. (2017). Change in “self-as-context” (“perspective-taking”) occurs in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for people with chronic pain and is associated with improved functioning. The Journal of Pain: Official Journal of the American Pain Society, 18(6), 664–672.

Zhang, C. Q., Leeming E., Smith, P., Chung, P. K., Hagger, M. S., &Hayes, S. Cc. (2018). Acceptance and commitment therapy for health behavior change: A contextually-driven approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 2350.

Act: parenting/caregivers

Blackledge, J. T. & Hayes, S. (2006). Using acceptance and commitment training in the support of parents of children diagnosed with autism. Child and Family Behaviors Therapy, 28(1), 1-18.

Castro, M., Rehfeldt, R. A., & Rroot, W. B. (2016). On the role of values clarification and committed actions in enhancing the engagement of direct care workers with clients with severe developmental disorders. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 5(4), 201-207.

Chancey, C., Weihl, C., Root, W., Rehfelldt, R. A., McCauley, D., Takeguchi, K., & Pritchard, J. (2019). The impact of mindfulness skills on interactions between direct care staff and adults with developmental disabilities. Journal of Contextual Behavior Science, 12.

Gould, E. R., Tarbox, J., & Coyne, L. (2018). Evaluating the effects of Acceptance and Commitment Training on the overt behavior of parents of children with autism. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 7.

Hahs, A. D., Dixon, M. R., & Paliliunas, D. (2019). Randomized controlled trial of a brief acceptance and commitment training for parents of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 12.

Lundgren, T., Dahl, J., &. Hayes, S. C. (2008). Evaluation of mediators of change in the treatment of epilepsy with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31, 225-235.

Singh, N. N., Lancioni, G. E., Winton, A. S., Fisher, B. C., Wahler, R. G., Mcaleavey, K., Singh, J. & Sabaawi, M. (2006). Mindful parenting decreaeses aggression, noncompliance, and self-injury in children with autism. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 14(3), 169-177.

Shiralinia, K. , Abdollahi Musavi, H.I, & KHojastemehr, R. (2018). The effectiveness of of Group Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based training on parenting stress and psychological flexibility in mothers of children with Autism spectrum disorder. Psychology of Exceptional Individuals, 7(28), 21-44.

Singh, N. N., Lancioni, G. E., Winton, A. S., Wahlerr, R. G., Singh, J., Sage, M. (2004). Mindful caregiving increases happiness among individuals with profound multiple disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 25(2), 207-218.