'It's Being a Part of a Grand Tradition, a Grand Counter-Culture Which Involves Communities': A Qualitative Investigation of Autistic Community Connectedness

Autor/inn/en	Botha, Monique; Dibb, Bridget; Frost, David M
Titel	'It's Being a Part of a Grand Tradition, a Grand Counter-Culture Which Involves Communities': A Qualitative Investigation of Autistic Community Connectedness
Quelle	In: Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 26 (2022) 8, S.2151-2164 (14 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Botha, Monique)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1362-3613
DOI	10.1177/13623613221080248
Schlagwörter	Autism Spectrum Disorders; Well Being; Interpersonal Relationship; Self Esteem; Community; Friendship; Foreign Countries; Adults; Social Influences; Social Attitudes; North America; Israel; Europe; South America; United Kingdom (England) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Autism; Autismus; Well-being; Wellness; Wohlbefinden; Interpersonal relation; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonelle Beziehung; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung; Self-esteem; Selbstaufmerksamkeit; Freundschaft; Ausland; Sozialer Einfluss; Social attidude; Soziale Einstellung; Nordamerika; Europa; Südamerika
Abstract	Autistic people report greater comfort socialising and easier communication with each other. Despite autism being stereotypically associated with lack of social motivation, an autistic community has been described briefly in the literature but is not well understood. Autistic community connectedness may play a role in promoting wellbeing for autistic people. This qualitative study involved interviewing autistic individuals (N = 20) in-person, via a video-based platform, a text-based platform or over email to investigate autistic community connectedness. Critical grounded theory tools were used to collect and analyse the data. There were three elements of autistic community connectedness: belongingness, social connectedness and political connectedness. Belongingness referred to the sense of similarity that autistic people experienced with each other. Social connectedness referred to specific friendship participants formed with other autistic people. Political connectedness referred to a connectedness to the political or social equality goals of the autistic community. Participants described the benefits of autistic community connectedness as being increased self-esteem, a sense of direction and a sense of community not experienced elsewhere. Lack of connectedness involved ambivalence with an autistic identity and/or feelings of internalised stigma. Experiences of autistic community connectedness may have implications for autistic people's wellbeing, as well as how they cope with minority stress. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01