Are we Missing Character in Strengths-Based Approaches to Coaching and Therapy for Autistic People?

Introduction

In recent years, the field of autism research and practice has begun to shift toward adopting a strengths-based narrative and away from the more deficit-focused medical model of autism.^1,2 Such a shift is consistent with the neurodiversity movement, where strengths, differences, and difficulties associated with neurodiversity are all perceived to be central to an individual’s identity, and individual differences should be accepted and celebrated within society.^3,4 The neurodiversity movement^{5 – 7} has called for the use of strengths-based approaches to ameliorate challenges of those living with a neurodevelopmental disability.^7,8 The neurodiversity movement has been driven forth by many self-advocates who promote the understanding and enhancing of subjective well-being for neurodivergent individuals,^9,10 and strengths identification is crucial for supporting autistic individuals to build a more positive autistic identity.^4,11 However, the definition of what constitutes as “strengths” across “strengths-based” approaches seemed to be inconsistent across literature. For example, Burnham Riosa and colleagues ¹ completed content analysis of articles published between 2004 and 2014 and found that despite 37.3% of the randomly selected articles claiming to have a focus on well-being in autistic individuals, the majority of the articles adopted deficit-focused language followed by a mixture of deficit- and strength-focused language, and a very small proportion of articles were exclusively focused on strengths. Moving beyond research to clinical practice, there also seems to be a disconnect between clinicians who report they are writing from a strengths-based perspective when communicating evaluations with autistic children and their families despite writing predominantly from a medical model and drawing on deficit-based language that is focused on diagnosis rather than individual’s abilities. ¹²

In an expert roundtable discussion on strengths-based approaches in autism, Urbanowicz and colleagues ² noted a number of questions ranging from establishing a consensus position on what is meant by strengths-based approach and potential downsides to using strengths-based approaches to considering how such approaches will affect autism research and clinical practice and have an impact on autistic individuals’ everyday lives. Experts discussed the position of defining strengths by asking the question “what can the autistic person do” and being able to leverage strengths for functional contexts such as for employment being key to identifying strengths in autism. ² Benchmarking strengths based on their utility has been echoed in research focused on skill and talent-based strengths in autistic individuals, such as hyper-focused attention, attention to detail, pattern recognition, memory, and tolerance for repetitive tasks, which can all be advantageous for employment.^13–18 The focus on skill-based strengths has led to the development of strengths-focused clubs and activities that draw on stereotypical strengths associated with autism such as technology.^19–21 Although such activities provide a safe space for autistic youths who share the same interest to connect with one another to develop their skills and build positive social connections,^22,23 it is also important to acknowledge that not all autistic individuals will have such skill-based strengths or share an interest that can be leveraged for employment purposes and that focused interests can also change over time. ²⁴

The potential conflation between focused interests and strengths when developing and conducting interventions may also run the risk of turning everything an autistic individual enjoys into a therapeutic opportunity to reinforce behavior change. ²⁵ Such behavior change can increase pressure for autistic individuals to “pass” and “cover up” autistic differences in a way that is cognitively effortful^25,26 and perpetuates internalization of stigma by placing demands on the autistic individual to change^25,27 rather than acknowledging social communication differences to arise from lack of mutual understanding across neurotypes as outlined by Milton in the double empathy problem. ²⁸ More importantly, an exclusive focus on skill or talent-based strengths only partially reflects the narrative that parents/carers and siblings report as strengths they notice in autistic children. ²⁹ The missing part of personality-based strengths such as love, affection, creativity, strong sense of justice and fairness, and honesty that showcase individual differences in strengths via anecdotal accounts of autistic individuals and their family members^30,31 is less well captured in research and clinical context when strengths are framed in terms of what can be leveraged for employment purposes.^6,15,17–20 The need to place the individual’s perspective of reality at the center, to adopt a language framework that posits that everyone has potential, and to focus on capacity building and recognizing individual differences is core to the principles of strengths-based practice, with the primary goal of increasing self-esteem and sense of competence and building resilience based on the recognition of one’s strengths.^32,33 This is particularly pertinent as autistic adults show poorer knowledge and use of their personal strengths compared with non-autistic adults, ³⁴ and qualitative accounts suggest that autistic adults are reluctant to label skills as strengths as they may also relate to difficulties depending on the context in which they are used. ³⁵

Finding a strengths-based framework that can (1) account for how strengths may be used differently across contexts; (2) speak true to the person’s values and identity; and (3) is inclusive of everyone’s ability^36,37 may be key to advancing conversations around strengths-based approaches in autism. In this perspective piece, we propose that Character Strengths framework from Positive Psychology may be a pathway to enable individual differences to be recognized and embraced. A recent roundtable discussion on integrating Positive Psychology and autism highlighted that as a new and evolving field, Positive Psychology helps individuals, organizations, and communities find what allows them to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives. ³⁸ As a framework that stems from Positive Psychology, Character Strengths framework enables individuals to reflect on each person’s unique positive qualities and values that motivate people to act in a meaningful way in their personal lives. ³⁹ We will first outline what Character Strengths are and how they relate to other types of strengths such as talents, skills, interests, and resources. We will describe the limited literature to date on how Character Strengths have been assessed in autistic adults and the growing use of Character Strengths in professional coaching, including its practical use in coaching late-diagnosed autistic adults. Finally, we will discuss clinical and practical implications of adopting Character Strengths when working with autistic individuals.

What Do We Mean by Character Strengths?

The Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Strengths ³⁹ emerged from a 3-year project intended to be a positive version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. ⁴⁰ Character Strengths were developed to provide a common language framework that allows people from different cultures and backgrounds to communicate their shared understanding of aspects of personality that are morally valued^39,41 and which underpin a life well lived. ⁴² The conceptualization of Character Strengths encapsulates a broad range of human qualities that encompass cognitive (Wisdom), emotional (Courage), social (Humanity and Justice), self-regulation (Temperance), and spiritual (Transcendence) strengths ⁴³ (see Table 1 for a list of 24 Character Strengths and descriptions). A core principle of Character Strengths is that everyone has all 24 strengths, and there are no set “norms” or “standards” for what is a “good” or “typical” Character Strength profile. ⁴³ In contrast, everyone may display different combinations of strengths depending on the values they hold and perceive to be core to their identity and the situational context they are in. ⁴³

Although similar to value-based frameworks that focus on supporting individuals to identify what is most meaningful to them, Character Strengths place a greater emphasis on how such values are embodied in the individual’s actions in daily life (values in action) and support the individual to develop a stronger sense of personal identity as well as contributing toward positive outcomes for themselves and others in the community.^43,45,46 Character Strengths differ from talents, skills, interests, and resources (see Table 2 for definitions) that form different types of strengths. Character Strengths are perceived to be innate qualities that can be nurtured over time to form the building blocks that enable and enhance the development of other strengths^48,49 and an internal resource that can be relied on when external resources may not always be available. ⁵⁰ For example, the development of skill-based artistic or musical talents may rely on fostering Creativity and Love of Learning, hyper-focused attention may relate to Perseverance, and attention to detail may rely on Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence. Character Strengths bear face validity by resembling the personality-based strengths recognized by family members of autistic individuals identified in qualitative literature, such as kindness, love, creativity, honesty, and fairness.^{14,29–31,51} Recent studies have also found that autistic children self-report as being kind and caring, ⁵² and kindness is also one of the most common qualities reported in autistic children by their parents. ⁵³

Character Strengths framework also honors autistic individuals’ experience that the boundary between strengths and weakness may be blurred. ³⁵ For example, a Character Strength that is either under- or overused may no longer benefit the individual and/or others in a situation and instead can lead to nonoptimal outcomes. ⁴⁷ For example, the optimal use of Curiosity to explore new experiences relies on striking a balance between potential underuse, which may come across as looking bored and self-involved, and overuse, which can be perceived as nosy and intrusive. ⁴⁷ Supporting individuals to develop mindful awareness of and explore how they use their Character Strengths in daily life and helping them to use strengths in new ways may enable that individual to form a closer connection with their personal values and live in a way that is both authentic and strengths based.^48,54

In research to date, using VIA surveys to formally identify Character Strengths in autistic individuals is somewhat limited. Three studies have been conducted with autistic adults.^55–57 Similar to non-autistic adults, autistic adults also express high levels of Judgement (encompassing critical thinking and open-mindedness) as a top Character Strength.^55,57 Autistic adults also show Love of Learning, Curiosity, Fairness, Honesty, and Creativity as some of the commonly occurring top Character Strengths,^55,57 as well as Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence, Kindness, and Honesty. ⁵⁶ One study also found that Intellectual strengths (Creativity, Curiosity, Judgment, Love of Learning) are more commonly identified as top strengths compared with Emotional (Zest, Hope, Bravery, Humor, Love, Social Intelligence) and Interpersonal strengths (Kindness, Teamwork, Fairness, Leadership, Forgiveness, Humility) but only at the aggregate category level rather than individual strengths within each category. ⁵⁶ At the individual top strengths level, top strengths spanned across restraint, theological, intellectual, and interpersonal domains. ⁵⁶ Highlighting group-based similarities and differences in Character Strengths between autistic and non-autistic peers may also provide insight into different strengths and perspectives that each person brings to a situation and may facilitate communication and bridge the double empathy problem^28,58 by approaching different viewpoints through recognizing each person’s Character Strengths at play.

Use of Character Strengths-Based Interventions in Coaching

The use of strengths-based approaches in the field of coaching is long established, with its earliest mention going back to 2006 ⁵⁹ and following on from the Positive Psychology movement. ⁶⁰ Research into Character Strengths-based coaching specifically is now starting to emerge. For example, Character-Strengths based practice is defined as “in which practitioners … educate clients on strengths and support clients in cultivating their Character Strengths for boosting well-being and handling adversity,” ⁶¹ and a recent article explores the integration of Character Strengths in coaching relationships. ⁴⁴ To the best of our knowledge, no research looking into (character) strengths-based coaching with autistic people yet exists.

Receiving an autism diagnosis can help make sense of one’s difficulties, develop self-acceptance, and understand oneself and one’s needs and strengths. ⁶² The knowledge of one’s strengths can be particularly beneficial for late-diagnosed adults, who due to a lifetime of masking or camouflaging might have a negative self-perception, feel disconnected from their true identity, have poor mental health, and experience burnout.^26,63,64 Using the language of Character Strengths can reframe autistic differences more positively, for example, by viewing “fixated interests” as an expression of Love of Learning and Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence, insensitivity to social reputation ⁶⁵ as an expression of Fairness (see Nocon et al. ⁵⁶ for more examples), and discover the positive qualities that are core to one’s identity.

One of the most well-established applications of the VIA methodology is that of identifying and using the signature strengths. ⁶¹ Typically the first—five to six Character Strengths in one’s VIA profile, ⁶⁶ signature strengths are defined as being essential to one’s identity and, when expressed, result in higher energy levels while being effortless to express. ⁶⁷ A meta-analysis of signature strength interventions ⁶⁸ shows their potential in increasing happiness levels and reducing depressive symptoms. Given that Honesty, Love of Learning, and Fairness have consistently ranked as signature strengths in autistic adults, ⁵⁶ exploring with a coachee the contexts in which these strengths can be applied could be a means of promoting autistic well-being and good mental health.

Although coachees are often invited ⁴³ to imagine being unable to use an individual signature strength to deepen the appreciation for the impact it has on one’s life through experiencing its absence, there is little mention of what I (A.S.N.) like to call camouflaged signature strengths, that is, Character Strengths that rank highly on one’s profile but are learned behaviors that don’t have the essential, energizing, and effortless qualities. Given the high incidence of masking in the autistic population compared with non-autistic people,^69,70 this topic is of high importance but is yet to be addressed in research. In my practice, I have seen two types of learned behaviors that rank highly in one’s VIA Character Strengths profile. First and the most common type comprises Character Strengths that are applied consciously or subconsciously because of past negative experiences, for example, Prudence (being too careful about one’s choices, inability to decide, “once bitten, twice shy”), Self-regulation (inhibition of one’s views, emotions, and stimming behaviors), or Social Intelligence (constantly trying to “read” other people). The second type of learned behaviors includes qualities that are employed to be effective in one’s environment, such as Perspective (gathering other people’s opinions to mitigate monotropic focus and tunnel vision). Therefore, having many learned behaviors ranking highly in the VIA profile might indicate high levels of masking or camouflaging, though it could also indicate successful adaptability to one’s environment. It is important for conversations to be scaffolded here to assist deeper investigation of how the autistic individual perceives the relevant strength in action within a specific context, without blindly assuming that all the Character Strengths that have been ranked highly are indeed essential, energizing and effortless for the coachee, as doing so could be ineffective in the long term, if not harmful. This is particularly important if the Character Strength reflects a masking behavior that has been learnt and internalized over time, as autistic masking may have stemmed from past interpersonal trauma and is associated with lower self-esteem, authenticity, and participation in the autistic community,^27,64,71 as well as poorer mental health outcomes.^72–74

Rather than conflating Character Strengths and masking behaviors, practitioners should recognize that constant overusing of certain top strengths may reduce flexibility in how autistic individuals may choose coping strategies to employ in a context-specific way, and prolonged masking may increase vulnerability to autistic burnout and increase mental health difficulties. ⁷⁵ The coach can support the coachee with evaluating the benefits and costs the current strength use brings in a given context and exploring opportunities to increase use of other strengths to help individuals approach the situations in a more effective yet still authentic manner. For example, balancing Honesty and Fairness with Love and Kindness may allow individuals to provide honest feedback to others in a way that communicates that they care. This may provide an alternative strategy compared with rigidly relying on qualities such as Self-Regulation, Prudence, and Social Intelligence that may result in holding back on one’s honest feedback for fear of upsetting others.

As well as using the signature strengths, investigating strengths over/under/optimal use offers another lens to understanding one’s use of Character Strengths.^76,77 Although the 24 Character Strengths are positive qualities, they can be overused if not balanced with other Character Strengths. For example, being Honest is a good quality, but without also using Kindness and Social Intelligence, Honesty can come across as being blunt and insensitive. Similarly, expressing Love of Learning can support autistic people in experiencing flow states, ⁷⁸ which are pleasurable, but can also lead to negative consequences including exhaustion and neglecting other duties. ⁷⁹ Therefore, exploring the optimal use of signature strengths may have the potential to improve psychological flexibility that may consequently have a positive impact on satisfaction with life for autistic people and warrants future research. ⁸⁰

Clinical Implications and Recommendations for Professionals

In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on supporting individuals to explore, elaborate, and develop their autistic identity when accessing mental health support^11,81 and clinicians seeking a way to identify and harness autistic individuals’ strengths to work collaboratively in therapy. ¹⁷ We recommend that Character Strengths may provide a unique framework that allows autistic individuals, their family members, and clinicians to share a language to enable them to develop awareness of an individual’s Character Strengths, explore how Character Strengths may be used in different ways across contexts, and support autistic individuals to apply their Character Strengths in a way that benefits the autistic individual and others, building on the application of the framework in coaching. ⁴³ We propose that Character Strengths can be incorporated into clinical settings during the following:

Initial assessment: Include a Character Strengths assessment such as Signature Strengths Survey ⁸² or VIA Character Strengths Survey ⁴⁸ to support autistic individuals develop awareness of their strengths, including those that are core to their identity, and not only challenges and deficits.

Recommendations for Autistic Individuals

For autistic individuals who wish to learn more about Character Strengths and draw on this approach in their daily life, we recommend following the Aware-Explore-Apply (AEA) Model, and a detailed description of how to apply the AEA model has been described by Niemiec et al. ⁴³ : 1.

Aware: Build awareness of your own Character Strengths profile and familiarize with the common language framework of all 24 different types of Character Strengths. Reflect on whether your strengths profile describes who you are and whether the top or signature strengths capture your values, what you find energizing, and what motivates you to take action in everyday life. If not, reflect on where these strengths may have come from; have they developed based on external influences rather than what intrinsically motivates you?

The AEA model can provide a helpful way for autistic individuals to engage with the Character Strengths framework in a person-centered way. Drawing on examples of their own lived experiences, the AEA model may enable individuals to better understand and actively connect with their personal Character Strengths in a way that allows them to live in a more mindful and authentic way.

Conclusion

We propose the use of Character Strengths framework as a novel way to approach strengths-based narratives in autism research and practice, by establishing a consistent language framework that identifies strengths in every individual by looking at characteristics underlying the development of skills, talents, and values. Building on developments in professional coaching, we highlight that identification and reflection on one’s Character Strengths profile may scaffold conversations around what are perceived by the autistic individual to be core to their sense of self and identity, and which behaviors may be learnt from the environment and extrinsically valued that may be more akin to camouflaging or masking. Although preliminary research and more extensive coaching work on Character Strengths in autistic adults show the potential merit in this work, we want to call on researchers and practitioners in the fields of Positive Psychology, Character Strengths, and autism practice to further explore whether questionnaire items that assess Character Strengths and their descriptions honor the lived experiences of autistic and other neurodivergent individuals. We hope that further coproduction work with the autistic and neurodivergent community can enhance the face and construct validity of Character Strengths framework by creating new autism-specific conceptualizations of Character Strengths that can be more neuro-affirming and encompass a broader range of individual differences that can foster growth and acceptance.

Finally, we describe how Character Strengths may be viewed as a complementary approach that can be woven into assessment, formulation, and treatment of co-occurring mental health difficulties in a clinical context and enable clinicians to simultaneously support autistic individuals to identify their internal values and resources through awareness of and exploration of Character Strengths use over time. Given that recent literature highlights an association between positive autistic identity and improved mental health and well-being ¹¹ and conversely higher self-reported camouflaging being associated with worse mental health outcomes, ⁷⁵ we propose that the Character Strengths framework may enable clinicians a novel way of approaching conversations around identity and camouflaging through a strengths-focused lens while acknowledging difficulties through evaluating strengths’ under- and overuse and promoting psychological flexibility. We hope that through clinicians adopting a strengths-based Character Strengths assessment tool that moves beyond symptom characterization and honors individual differences, autistic people are empowered to flourish by putting their values in action.