‘Most People have no Idea what Autism is’ Unpacking Autism Disclosure using Social Media Analysis
Edwards, Love, Jones, Cai, Nguyen and Gibbs (2023)
Autism disclosure – that is sharing their autism diagnosis or identity – is a difficult decision for many autistic people. While disclosure can be positive it can create problems. This paper details the complicated nature of Autism Disclosure. Through exploring three years of public Reddit and Twitter posts the Authors explored the nature of disclosing an Autistic diagnosis or identity. These posts came from a wide range of both Autistic and non-Autistic adults. The key finding of the research was that society does not understand Autism. This lack of understanding creates problems across work, healthcare, mental health and dating. The Authors outline that Autistic people should have privacy and be treated with respect. Additionally, that Autistic representation can be beneficial, and that non-Autistic people need to do more to support Autistic people. The findings of this research support the idea that society needs to do more to increase Autism advocacy, better media representation and more public role models. This would enable a better societal understanding of Autism and reduce negative stereotypes allowing Autistic people to feel safe and more comfortable when disclosing their Autism.
