Autistic and without a home: a systematic review and meta-ethnography of the presence and experiences of homelessness amongst autistic individuals

Certain populations are more vulnerable to the cycle of homelessness. We conducted a systematic review to identify studies on autistic individuals within the homeless community, who are a “hard-to-reach” sub-population. Eight Internet-based databases were used, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines. After completing the screening process for 870 articles, 17 were included in the review. We used a critical appraisal skills program to evaluate the risk of bias for these studies. Five articles estimated prevalence rates, thus suggesting an elevated rate of autistic traits in the homeless community of up to 50%. The remaining 12 (two literature reviews and 10 qualitative or mixed-method) reported that the homelessness risk factors amongst autistic individuals are co-occurring conditions, rigidity, and a lack of familial relationships and opportunities. The conclusions of the study are limited by the lack of qualitative data. Future research should focus on rigorous comparative studies of homeless populations with and without autism.