“Discovering Who I Am” An emancipatory approach to self-identification of autism

Educational Psychologists play a key role in supporting children and young people who are autistic, and have a particular statutory responsibility with regards to preparing for adulthood outcomes.

Autism is traditionally considered within a medical model, within-child approach, but is discussed here in relation to its social construction.

An intersectional approach is taken with due regard to minority stress models and multiple marginalisation.

The mixed-methods literature review examines 28 papers on the experience of autistic social camouflaging, a practice hypothesised to contribute to the late identification of autistic individuals who do not have accompanying learning difficulties.

Camouflaging is considered in relation to the interaction with gender, going beyond a binary male/female dichotomy in conceptualisations of autism.

Findings indicate that the primary motivations for camouflaging are to fit in and to avoid victimisation.

There are both positive and negative consequences to camouflaging, with particularly detrimental effects on mental health reported.

There is tentative evidence to support the notion that social camouflaging is less prevalent in autistic males, but a paucity of research on camouflaging in LGBTQIA+ autistic populations.

The empirical paper takes an emancipatory, mixed-methods approach to exploration of the life experiences of adults who self-identify as autistic.

A co-research team is facilitated in considering camouflaging within the context of quality of life and wellbeing as well as identity and gender.

Factors that impact on transitioning to adulthood, the process of self-identification and the role of gender and autistic identity in quality of life are explored and an explanatory narrative case study is presented, adding richness to the data.

Findings include a need to consider the intersection between trauma and autism, and the importance of a positive autistic identity. Implications for theory and practice are considered.