How is autistic identity in adolescence influenced by parental disclosure decisions and perceptions of autism?
Teens who learn they are autistic from accepting parents grow up liking their autism and themselves.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Riccio et al. (2021) talked with autistic teens and their parents. They asked how parents shared the autism news and how teens felt about it.
The team used long interviews. They compared teens who learned early from parents with teens who found out later or from other people.
What they found
Teens told early by parents saw autism as a normal part of them. They used upbeat words like "different thinking" instead of broken.
Teens who learned later or from others often felt shame. They wished someone had told them sooner.
How this fits with other research
Andrews et al. (2024) asked autistic adults where they learned about autism. Adults who used blogs and social media had better knowledge and less shame than adults who used only doctor leaflets. Both studies show that who gives the news shapes identity.
Lim et al. (2021) found that parents who feel stigma keep teens at home more. The teen picks up that fear and talks less to peers. Ariana’s work adds: parents who speak openly build pride instead of fear.
Atherton et al. (2019) let teens explain their social thinking. Teens said "I’m not broken, I just notice details others miss." Ariana’s teens said the same when parents framed autism as difference, not deficit.
Why it matters
When you coach families, urge early, calm disclosure. Give parents a short script: "Autism means your brain likes clear rules and deep interests. It is one part of you, not a problem to fix." Teens who hear that story like themselves more and work harder in therapy.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
There is a lot of research about how parents think about their child's autism but we don't know much about how parents talk with their kids about autism. How parents talk with their kids about autism may shape how kids see autism. A team of autistic and non-autistic people (including a mother of an autistic person) did a study. We wanted to know if how parents talk with their kids about autism shapes how their kids see autism. Nineteen teens from a summer camp did interviews and surveys. Their mothers did surveys. Teens learned about if they had autism in different ways. Some teens still didn't know they were autistic. Teens whose moms chose to tell them about their autism talked about autism and themselves more positively than teens whose moms didn't choose to talk with them about autism. Only teens whose moms chose to talk with them about autism described themselves as having social strengths. Teens had a harder time defining autism than moms. However, teens and moms talked about autism in similar ways. Our study shows that parents can help their kids see autism and themselves more positively by talking with their kids about autism early in development.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2021 · doi:10.1177/1362361320958214