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Autism, Identity and Me: A Professional and Parent Guide to Autism, Identity and Me: A Professional and Parent Guide to

Humphrey N, Lewis S. ‘Make me normal’: The views and experiences of pupils on the autistic spectrum in mainstream secondary schools. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice. 2008; 12(1):23–46. [ PubMed] [ Google Scholar] These are the things I find hard, these are the things I find easy, and these are the ways I was harmed. Cooper K, Smith LG, Russell A. Social identity, self-esteem, and mental health in autism. European Journal of Social Psychology. 2017; 47(7):844–854. [ Google Scholar]

3 Series Titles

Sometimes it can be easy to look at what we don’t like. Maybe because we spend a lot of time looking at what we don’t like in ourselves. But fostering a strengths mindset of ourselves, fostering a strengths mindset in how we see others, builds up self-acceptance, builds up communal acceptance, builds up strength of identity. When I talk about the Neurodiversity paradigm, some people get confused and assume that switching focus from deficits to positivity and difference means that disabilities are denied. This is not the case at all, as presented by Emily Paige Ballou, in her article in The Thinking Person’s guide to Autism: “What the Neurodiversity Movement does – and doesn’t – offer”

‘Who Am I?’: An Exploratory Study of the Relationships

As a library, NLM provides access to scientific literature. Inclusion in an NLM database does not imply endorsement of, or agreement with, It is never too late to support a young person in developing a better sense of self. I have worked for a number of years doing just this, through clearly structured sessions, together creating a personalised book all about them. The Autism, Identity and Me Workbook for young people was created to become the individual’s unique story, using visual prompts to positively explore their personality and interests, feelings of difference and what this means to them. The book also features other autistic individuals, providing peer representation, and a template toolkit. When to have these conversations? Beyond autonomy we have belonging. And despite what popular culture may want us to believe, self-acceptance rarely happens outside of feeling cared for and connected to some form of community. A lot of my self-acceptance occurred in tandem with meeting and hearing from other Autistic individuals through books and online. Autistics often socialise differently. We often connect differently. Myself, personally, I really enjoy internet and online connection. Yet I’ve often been told that that’s weird and that I should push that to the side and instead strive for in-person socialising as though that’s the best and only way to find authentic belonging. Belonging can look different for different people depending on our needs around socialising, depending on our socialising capacities. I experience a lot of social overload, but online, as I connect with my Autistic communities, communities intersecting across my identities, and as I read books about people who experience things similarly to me, I feel a deep sense of belonging. Our servers are getting hit pretty hard right now. To continue shopping, enter the characters as they are shown Rebecca’s book is a great resource for guiding strength-based conversations about a young person’s autistic identity. The book focuses on individual similarities and differences, whilst encouraging a sense of shared identity and connection to others. This is a great resource for supporting young people to explore their individual strengths and skills, whilst developing a sense of pride. A recommended read!" – Dr Claire Prosser BEM, Educational Psychologist, Spectropolis - Pay it ForwardMcGovern CW, Sigman M. Continuity and change from early childhood to adolescence in autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2005; 46(4):401–408. [ PubMed] [ Google Scholar] Ussher MH, Owen CG, Cook DG, Whincup PH. The relationship between physical activity, sedentary behaviour and mental health among adolescents. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2007; 42(10):851–856. [ PubMed] [ Google Scholar]

Identity Theory of Autism: How Autistic Identity Is The Identity Theory of Autism: How Autistic Identity Is

Autism, Identity and Me: A Professional and Parent Guide to Support a Positive Understanding of Autistic Identity Côté JE. The enduring usefulness of Erikson’s concept of the identity crisis in the 21st century: An analysis of student mental health concerns. Identity. 2018; 18(4):1–13. [ Google Scholar] Meltzer H, Gatward R, Goodman R, Ford T. The mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain. London: HM Stationery Office; 2000. [ PubMed] [ Google Scholar]

Join us on the journey to reframe how society understands Autism

Rebecca’s book is a great resource for guiding strength-based conversations about a young person’s autistic identity. The book focuses on individual similarities and differences, whilst encouraging a sense of shared identity and connection to others. This is a great resource for supporting young people to explore their individual strengths and skills, whilst developing a sense of pride. A recommended read!" – Dr Claire Prosser BEM, Educational Psychologist, Spectropolis – Pay it Forward I want to take a moment to pause even more fully on that queer element. And when I talk about queerness and Autism, I wanna make sure that I’m encompassing LGBTQ. That this is gender diversity as well as non-heterosexuality. And so within this, I wanna give a trigger warning before I state the following statistic around suicide. But according to the Trevor Project, 40% of queer youth contemplate suicide. And we know now that 69.7% of Autistics identify as non-heterosexual. That need to express ourselves, to express ourselves and have that expression be accepted, is key to self-acceptance. Seeing and embracing differences and the expression of difference is acceptance. Acceptance is not making everyone the same or seeing everyone as the same. Without the freedom to express ourselves, it is hard to accept ourselves. But once we taste that freedom and are afforded safety to express, we can begin to shout out loud in self-acceptance.

Helping young people to understand their autistic identity

Bagatell N. From cure to community: Transforming notions of autism. Ethos. 2007; 38(1):33–55. [ Google Scholar] So much of what I and so many other Advocates talk about: Language, Masking and Burnout, the history of Autism, the diagnosis, the near constant invalidation, this need for people to have a paradigm shift at all about Autism; all leads, via a twisty, winding path through the undergrowth to one thing: Findings of the current study suggested that those who aligned only to non-autistic culture (assimilated) tended to generate more positive statements about themselves than those who aligned to neither culture. Marcia’s ( 1980) identity status theory could be used to explain such findings, whereby commitment refers to the degree of personal investment the individual expresses towards a certain identity (Kroger & Marcia 2011). Those in the separated or assimilated groups may have explored and committed to an identity, whereas those in the bicultural or marginalised groups (alignment to both or neither culture) may not yet have achieved strong commitment and thus an established sense of identity. Minority group research (e.g. Phinney 2003) supports this proposition, showing that exploring and committing to an ethnic identity can serve a protective role for individuals’ self-esteem; individuals who have explored and resolved issues pertaining to the group they identify with may feel more confident and have the tools to discuss issues regarding their group identity.

What can we do to increase understanding of autistic identity in young people?

Masking: An act of resistance – A look at the person and political aspects and implications of taking the Mask off Braverman A. Verbal ability and identity development (Unpublished doctoral dissertation) Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University-Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology; 2016. [ Google Scholar]