**Scientific summary** The COVID-19 pandemic has not affected all communities equally[1,2]. Individuals at elevated risk of COVID-19-related illness, complications or death include people with Autism Spectrum Conditions, a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by difficulties with communication and social interaction, restricted interests and repetitive behaviours[3,4]. Over half of autistic people have multiple co-occurring physical health conditions and lifelong mental health difficulties, such as anxiety and depression[5] that significantly impair daily living skills and quality of life[6-9]. Only a small minority of autistic people can live autonomously without support from others (e.g., family, carers)[8]. The rapid and unpredictable changes to COVID-19 restrictions provided little opportunity to plan for or manage the impact of this major transition on functional and support needs for autistic people. The impending easement of COVID-19 lockdown offers a unique opportunity to: 1) document the impact of a major disruption on autistic people’s daily living skills, physical and mental health, and quality of life; 2) identify factors that may facilitate transitions to post-COVID-19 life and, more generally, future major life transitions. Co-production with the autistic community will inform key stages of the research and outputs. This research will use a mixed-methods approach to capture the lived experience and support needs of autistic people, across a range of ages and abilities, in the context of COVID-19. Research outputs will contribute to existing autism knowledge via a Brief Report of the facilitators and barriers to supporting the well-being and everyday lives of autistic people during the ongoing pandemic and in the transition to post-COVID life. **Introduction and background information** The estimated prevalence of Autism Spectrum Conditions is 1 in 58 people and over 700,000 people in the UK have an autism diagnosis. Approximately 50% of autistic people have co-occurring learning disability and as many as 90% have co-occurring physical and/or mental health conditions[14,15]. Consequently, a significant proportion of autistic people are dependent on support networks that include families/carers, health and social care professionals, special education resources and autism charities[6,7,10], that were compromised during COVID-19. In this context, support for autistic children and young people may necessarily fall to immediate family/carers, whilst autistic adults and those who live alone or semi-independently may nonetheless require varying levels of social and/or health-care support[7]. The planned research will involve autistic people across a range of ages and abilities (and families/carers) from Scotland and England primarily, and families from our partner networks. We aim to deliver immediate and longer-term resources to support the wellbeing and functional needs of autistic people, across a range of ages and abilities, across the UK. **Importance of the COVID-19 related knowledge gap** Autistic people are more vulnerable than non-autistic people to multiple risk factors that would make major transitions more difficult in everyday life. In non-autistic people, uncertainty and unpredictability related to isolation and quarantine leads to increased anxiety, confusion, frustration and behavioural disruption[11]. In autism, intolerance of uncertainty and changes in routines or environment trigger heightened anxiety, distress and challenging behaviours in everyday situations[12]. As a result, the environmental changes and movement restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to have triggered disproportionate disruption to the functional skills and wellbeing of autistic people. Simultaneously, a significant proportion of autistic people have complex physical and/or mental health and learning support needs and are more dependent on access to a support network which is less available in situations such as COVID-19 lockdown[4,13]. Yet, little is known or documented about how transitions triggered by COVID-19 have affected the wellbeing and everyday functioning of autistic people and their families. Importantly, the ongoing uncertainty related to COVID-19 and the evolving adaptations to the ‘easement’ of lockdown restrictions may create greater strain yet, as people transition to post-COVID-19 life. To alleviate the challenges faced by autistic people, their families and carers, it is, therefore, crucial to identify factors that mediate major disruptions to daily life and provide adaptive supports, both in the context of COVID-19 and for future significant life changes. The disruption caused by COVID-19 provides a unique opportunity to capture and translate that knowledge to support post-COVID-19 transitions. **Overview and Research Aims** The planned research aims to identify the factors that contributed positively or negatively to daily living skills, physical and mental health, and quality of life for autistic people in the context of COVID-19 lockdown. The introduction of the UK’s lockdown (mid-March 2020) resulted in a period of severe disruption to daily life. Its extended duration will, to varying degrees, have facilitated a level of adaption for some people (e.g., reduced social demands), whilst increasing ongoing challenges for others (e.g., less access to support)[7,8,10]. The current period of lockdown adaptation provides a unique opportunity to gather invaluable insights about factors that mitigated the impact of COVID-19-related disruption for autistic people, and factors that continue to make everyday life more difficult. As UK government guidelines continue to evolve, urgent evidence-based guidance is needed to support vulnerable groups. By starting this project as early as possible we can ensure that the data will reflect participants experiences of COVID-19 lockdown as closely and completely as possible, whilst highlighting potential challenges in transitions to post-COVID-19 life as the UK begins to reopen. A prompt starting date will facilitate more impactful research outputs through timely creation of data-led guidelines for the autistic community, support services and policy-makers, during what is expected to be a prolonged period of incremental adjustments. For these reasons, we aim to start the project within 3 weeks of funding submission (July 2020), to maximise impact. Remote online assessment will facilitate accelerated data collection and research outputs to support autistic people and their families in the short term, as well as longer-term strategies for future major transitions. **Methods and research approach** Our approach complements recent research on the impact of COVID-19 on autistic people’s mental health and access to services[4,13]. To do this, we will: 1) conduct a more holistic assessment of the key aspects of autistic people’s autonomy and wellbeing, and 2) highlight personal and environmental factors as potential targets for future areas of support, to improve the health and social care of autistic people in the context of COVID-19, and beyond. Importantly, the planned research will provide unique insights into autistic people’s lived experience, including people who are often under-represented in research (i.e., individuals with complex learning and/or support needs) and/or those who have limited access to everyday support (i.e., autistic adults). An autistic advisory panel will be involved at key stages of the project to ensure its relevance and use to the autism community. The research findings will inform practice and policy-making for the phased transition to post-COVID-19 life in the short- to medium-term, and provide evidence-based guidance to support major disruptions to daily life in the longer-term. To achieve these research outcomes, our fundamental research question is: **What personal and environmental factors served either as barriers or facilitators to support autistic people’s functional skills and wellbeing during a period of major disruption?** **Research design** The planned work will follow a mixed design combining quantitative (Phase 1) and qualitative (Phase 2) methods. **Procedure** An autistic community panel will be involved in shaping and reviewing the content of participant briefing notes, research materials (qualitative questionnaires and interviews; quantitative ranking of themes), and research outputs to ensure their relevance and clarity for the autistic community. *Qualitative interviews* Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with a representative subsample of 30 participants. These interviews will serve to capture the lived experience of autistic people and explore factors that were perceived to make COVID-19 transitions either easier or more challenging. Interviews will be conducted remotely (by telephone/video, depending on accessibility and facilitated by parents/carers where appropriate) to reduce social demands and stress and ensure participant safety. This method will also allow for flexibility of scheduling and more rapid data collection. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Autism Core Set will be used as a framework for the interview questions. The ICF provides a comprehensive list of potential barriers and facilitators that can impact a person’s daily living skills, physical health and wellbeing, activities and participation in society, along two dimensions: personal and environmental[28]. Personal factors refer to intrinsic traits and behaviour (e.g., personality, mental health, sleep patterns, nutrition and meals, repetitive and sensory behaviours). Environmental factors refer to external elements in the immediate environment (e.g., involvement of parents/caregivers/family, access to specialist care and support services, living space and access to other spaces, accessibility and opportunity for participation in school or work, other external events). The interview questions will be co-produced with the autistic panel to ensure the language and phrasing accommodates the individual differences and needs of autistic participants, whilst maintaining authenticity of the research aims. The interview will guide participants to share their lived experience of personal and environmental factors that they perceived to be either helpful or hindering in coping with COVID-19-related disruptions to their everyday life. We will apply thematic analysis to identify common topics that emerge from the interviews, and the factors that participants identified as barriers and/or facilitators in the context of the major disruption that resulted from COVID-19 and how that disruption impacted their functional abilities and wellbeing. *Quantitative ranking* The themes that emerge from the qualitative interviews and related personal and environmental factors will be used to create a short rating scale, that will be presented to the wider autistic community for ranking in terms of most helpful or most disruptive to their daily lives and mental health. *Participants and Community involvement* A sample of 200 autistic participants will be recruited across a wide range of ages and abilities. Power analysis indicated that, based on Multiple Linear Regression with 4 variables (daily living skills, physical health, mental health, quality of life), we should adequately achieve at least a medium effect size (d = 0.5, p = 0.05, estimated sample = 129, actual power = 0.95) for Phase 1 data analysis (questionnaires). A subsample of 30 participants (20 autistic people and 10 parents/carers) will be invited to take part in the semi-structured interview (Phase 2). Both phases will serve to evaluate the factors that mediate autistic people’s functional skills and wellbeing during a major disruption. The primary participants will be autistic people or their main caregiver (informants). Informants will have current and historical knowledge of the autistic person and their everyday abilities or challenges and will be encouraged to involve the autistic person where possible. A community panel of 4 autistic advisors (1 young person, 2 adults, 1 parent/carer) will be invited to participate in co-production of the research, analysis, reporting and dissemination activities. The PI/Co-PI will hold collaborative briefing and review meetings (online) with the panel at key research stages. In this way, we aim to facilitate best practice research that captures the priorities and voice of the autistic community. **How this research will add value to existing COVID-19-related activities** The proposed research will address two gaps in the current literature on COVID-19 and autism: 1) complement recent surveys on the challenges faced by autistic people by exploring the factors that could positively mediate major unplanned transitions; 2) provide a voice to the lived experience of autistic people, across the lifespan and ranges of (dis)abilities, including those who may otherwise be under-represented in research/services. Across the UK, COVID-19-related restrictions have altered standard practice for health/social care, support services, employers and schools, reducing access to support. Although several services (e.g., clinical services, charities, schools) have created online resources offering tips about self-care for mental health and wellbeing and avoiding increased transmission of COVID-19, recent COVID-19 surveys[4,12] reported that many families had experienced new or exacerbated struggles during the lockdown which they had to face with significantly reduced support. The rapid research responses to early stages of COVID-19 have largely focused on surveying autistic families and, to a lesser extent, autistic people themselves, about the impact of lockdown on access to support, or mental health or quality of life. However, those surveys largely report parent/carer responses about autistic children and young people. The proposed research will contribute new knowledge about the factors that served as barriers or facilitators during the disruption, to inform future guidance for practice and policy. We will extend the research to include lived experience of autistic people across a range of ages and abilities, including adults who typically face limited supports even at normal times. **Research Impact and Dissemination** In the short-term, we will produce resources that can be immediately used to support autistic people and their families/carers, and health/social care professionals in preparing for the transition to post-COVID-19 life. A Brief Report of research insights will summarise the domains of functioning and wellbeing that are most affected by major disruptions to daily routines. The report will be aimed at professionals who support autistic people in everyday activities and researchers who plan to further investigate the impact of COVID-19 to develop supportive interventions. We will also produce a Factsheet of that information for charities and support organisations, parents/carers and autistic people themselves. We will produce publicly available free resources to provide immediately applicable insights to educational, health/social care professionals, autism charities, and autistic people themselves. The co-produced Brief Report will summarise key research findings and emerging themes within a framework of barriers and facilitators to supporting autistic people through major transitions. We further plan to present our findings to the scientific community through conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications. We plan to submit findings to 2021 specialist autism research conferences (e.g., Autistica Discover; International Society for Autism Research (INSAR)). Ultimately, we anticipate these findings would lead to 2-3 peer-reviewed publications in high impact scientific journals. Together, the research will contribute new knowledge and resources that can support autistic people to live rewarding and fulfilling lives. **Ethical considerations** The main ethical issue to consider is that autistic children and adults are considered vulnerable individuals. Procedures will be put in place to protect participants. Firstly, for all individuals who are not able (legally or cognitively) to give their consent, informed consent will be collected from the primary caregiver (also the primary informant). Secondly, materials developed specifically for this project will be examined by an autistic advisory panel to ensure that they are appropriate. Thirdly, contact details of people in relevant support organisations will be available for participants if required. Finally, all data will be stored securely, and published anonymously. Ethical approval is expected to be in place by the project start date. **References** 1. Care Quality Commission (CQC, June 2020). 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