Advocacy and Participation: young people with autism spectrum disorder and their experiences with statutory casework

This chapter addresses how a group of young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experienced their contact with statutory caseworkers from Danish social services departments, drawing upon insights from social phenomenology and focusing on their lived experiences. The point of departure is a study that aimed to investigate how these vulnerable youths viewed the possibility of influencing their life situations. This is ultimately a question of participation: do young people with ASD feel properly understood, included and involved in the decision-making processes regarding important life issues? In this chapter, advocacy is seen as a necessary condition to ensure the participation and the rights of these young people. The chapter shows that violations of their guaranteed participation and rights are quite common, and this calls for stronger advocacy to be exercised by statutory caseworkers, as well as by other types of advocates.