A systematic review on autistic people's experiences of stigma and coping strategies.
Autistic people face daily stigma and try hiding, disclosing, or re-framing to cope, but we still lack strong guides on which strategy truly helps.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Han et al. (2022) looked at every paper they could find on how autistic people describe being judged or left out.
They pulled out quotes about what hurt and what helped.
The team grouped the quotes into themes to see which coping tricks people tried.
What they found
Autistic people say they are stared at, talked down to, and left out every day.
Many start to believe the bad labels themselves.
They fight back by hiding traits, picking who they tell, or re-framing autism as a difference, not a flaw.
No one yet knows which trick works best.
How this fits with other research
Kim et al. (2024) show most stigma classes are one-time videos with no proof they change real life.
That feels like bad news, but it simply means we have not tested the right lessons yet.
Anonymous (2024) tracked 225 adults and found fear of being judged is why many camouflage.
This backs up Emeline’s point that hiding is common, and it shows the fear path clearly.
Chen et al. (2024) add that teens who cope better feel less social anxiety, yet still doubt their own skills.
So coping may calm feelings without fixing self-image — a gap Emeline also flagged.
Why it matters
You can’t fix stigma you don’t see. Use Emeline’s themes to ask clients where they feel judged each week. Pair those talks with lessons that build pride, not just masks. Until better trainings exist, your empathy and small acceptance moments are the best intervention we have.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Autism can be understood as a concealable stigmatized identity. This is the first systematic review to synthesize the literature on autistic people's experiences of stigma and coping strategies. 2877 studies were screened and 27 were included in this review. The reviewed literature demonstrates that autistic individuals are acutely aware of being stereotyped, judged, and discriminated by others. Autistic people also show signs of internalizing stigma, rendering them more vulnerable to low self-worth and poorer mental health. To manage the impact of stigma, the included studies suggest that autistic individuals may use these strategies: concealment and camouflaging, selective disclosure and self-advocacy, as well as positive reframing and reconstructing identity. However, the evidence is limited and mixed in terms of how helpful and effective these strategies are. Future studies should include autistic populations with a wider range of intellectual abilities and explore interventions that can support autistic people in managing stigma to supplement interventions that seek to reduce stigma towards autistic people. The power of language in perpetuating and challenging stigma also has important implications for research and practice, underscoring the need for researchers and practitioners to reflect carefully on the messages they are communicating about autism.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2022 · doi:10.1002/aur.2652