Table 5 Statements reaching consensus (with a median of six or greater and an interquartile range of one or less) about how services can support autistic women with anorexia nervosa
Statement | Interquartile range |
|---|---|
Eating disorder services should | |
Support autistic women with anorexia to manage changes in treatment. This might involve having more warning about changes or having longer transitions between teams | 0 |
Ensure that any rules (including ‘unwritten’ rules) are fully explained and justified, as autistic women may find it difficult to adjust to different rules in different services | 0.75 |
Provide autistic women with anorexia with structured, clear treatment plans with goals which are broken into achievable steps | 0.75 |
Work collaboratively with autistic women to tailor treatment to their individual needs, as what is helpful for one autistic woman may be unhelpful for another | 0 |
Ensure different staff to have a consistent approach with autistic women with anorexia | 1 |
Ensure staff working with autistic women with anorexia need regular supervision to discuss their work | 1 |
Adapt buildings to be more autism-friendly and less triggering to sensory sensitivities. This could be done by designing spaces together with autistic people | 1 |
Be adapted to be more accessible for autistic people, i.e. communicating via text messages and emails as well as phone calls | 0 |
Provide more online information aimed at autistic women with anorexia i.e. educational information, blog posts, community spaces | 1 |
Use the PEACE pathway (Pathway for Eating disorders and Autism developed from Clinical Experience, developed by Kings College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Trust) | 0.75 |
Be aware that traditional treatment and environments which are aimed at neurotypical people can be harmful to autistic women with anorexia | 1 |
Be aware that some changes to treatment that would be helpful for autistic women might also be helpful for non-autistic women | 1 |