Portrayals of autism and social awareness: a scoping review

Fontes, Rosa; Juste, Margarita R. Pino

doi:10.1108/aia-02-2021-0014

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Users in our study suggested positive media portrayals and more autism advocacy through public figures could be two ways to ensure a safer environment for autistic people who want to disclose or be more authentic in their communities. This aligns with emerging research that shows mass media is often considered the most prominent source of information on conditions such as autism for the general public, but the usual lens through which it is portrayed (skewed and often negative) is problematic and promotes stigma (Fontes & Pino-Juste, 2022; Jones et al, 2023). Therefore, the media must consider more diversity in autistic portrayals, more ethical and accurate reporting, and include relevant strengths rather than focusing on weaknesses.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

‘Most people have no idea what autism is’: Unpacking autism disclosure using social media analysis

Edwards,

Love,

Jones

et al. 2023

Autism

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Autism disclosure can be a complicated decision that autistic people experience. Positive outcomes can include feelings of acceptance and support, but negative outcomes can include stigma and discrimination. Although a surge in research on this topic has led to more understanding around autism disclosure, the methodologies used may have limited who was contributing to the conversation and data. To overcome this, we analyzed 3 years (2020−2022) of social media data (Reddit and Twitter) as this was public information that did not rely on researcher data collection. Reflexive thematic analysis of 3121 posts led to the generation of four themes: People do not understand autism (with experiences related to employment, dating, healthcare and mental health), autistic people just want privacy and respect, autistic people can lead us forward and non-autistic people need to assume more responsibility. We discuss how autistic adults experience the impact of society’s lack of understanding of autism on a daily basis whether they disclose or not, and that it is everybody’s responsibility to challenge negative stereotypes and promote a more inclusive society. Lay abstract Autism disclosure – that is sharing their autism diagnosis or identity with a person or people – is a difficult decision for many autistic people. While telling people they are autistic can be positive and helpful, it can also create a lot of problems. What we have learnt is that disclosure is really complicated. Rather than asking research participants questions about what might happen, we looked at what people were saying on public social media posts (Reddit and Twitter) about what did happen. We used three years of posts that were related to autism disclosure from a wide range of adults (autistic and non-autistic). Four main ideas were created from our data, with the key finding being that society does not understand autism. This lack of understanding creates problems for autistic people in work, dating, healthcare and mental health. The remaining ideas were that autistic people should have privacy and be treated with respect, that autistic representation can help society and that non-autistic people need to do more to help autistic people. Our findings support that society needs to do more through autism advocacy, better media representation and more public role models. Increasing the accuracy of understanding of autism across society will mean that autistic people can feel safer to disclose if they want to.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

‘Most people have no idea what autism is’: Unpacking autism disclosure using social media analysis

Edwards,

Love,

Jones

et al. 2023

Autism

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“…full-time care and support), thus disregarding the varying levels of support that may be required by different individuals on the spectrum and the fluctuations in the amount of support required within the life span of an autistic person. Studies also contained explicit or implicit disablism, and consistent with findings from previous reviews, television series tended to focus on stereotypical portrayals of the autistic savant ( Dean & Nordahl-Hansen, 2021 ; Fontes & Pino-Juste, 2021 ). Across all mediums, there was an overrepresentation of repetitive/restricted behaviours and an underrepresentation of social communication deficits; although, somewhat encouragingly, recent novels, picture books and television series were more likely to provide a nuanced representation of autism ( Kelley et al, 2018 ; Kelley et al, 2015 ; Wolff, 2018 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…While previous reviews focused on examining the demographic attributes of autistic characters ( Dean & Nordahl-Hansen, 2021 ) and how autism is portrayed ( Fontes & Pino-Juste, 2021 ), this review extended the examination of autism across a range of fictional media by additionally exploring the nature of relationships between autistic people and others, and how literary devices and culture context were used to provide autistic perspectives. Autistic characters in fiction continued to be presented as burdens or saviours, there to drive the plot or to evoke sympathy for their neurotypical families and friends, rather than as holistic individuals with agency.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The media has a significant and powerful influence on shaping societal beliefs and attitudes towards others ( Baroutsis et al, 2021 ; Fontes & Pino-Juste, 2021 ). This influence is particularly strong when a person’s direct experience with the ‘other’ is limited ( Baroutsis et al, 2021 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A scoping review examined available literature published up until the end of 2019 on the portrayals of autism in media and the impact of such portrayals ( Fontes & Pino-Juste, 2021 ). Across the 22 publications included in the review, 13 examined fictional examples of autism, while the remainder analysed newspapers, news broadcast and a videoclip.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Representation of autism in fictional media: A systematic review of media content and its impact on viewer knowledge and understanding of autism

Jones

Gordon

Mizzi

2023

Autism

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Media depictions of autism have the potential to have either positive or detrimental impacts on the lives of autistic people. This systematic review aimed to examine (1) the accuracy and authenticity of fictional media portrayals of autism (Part A) and (2) the impact of viewing such portrayals on knowledge about autism and attitudes towards autistic people (Part B). Seventeen articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review: 14 for Part A and 3 for Part B, comprising five experimental studies. The media reviewed in Part A covered a 30-year period (1988–2017). Several stereotypical and unhelpful portrayals surfaced. Positive portrayals of autism highlighted strengths and reflected nuance. Overall, participants in the fiction conditions in Part B were significantly more likely to attribute positive traits to an autistic person than those in the control conditions, with medium effect sizes ranging from 0.57 to 0.73. There were no improvements in knowledge. Given the small number of studies included in this review, further evidence is needed to understand the conditions under which fictional media may be effective. There is also a need to develop measures that accurately and respectfully measure autistic people’s experiences of community knowledge and attitudes. Lay abstract The way autism is represented in fictional media can impact people’s views of autistic people. For example, representations may contribute to negative views of autistic people as being unusual or dangerous, or they may challenge stereotypes and instead highlight the strengths of autistic people. This work aimed to review previous research to understand how autistic people have been represented in fictional media (Part A). It also sought to understand whether viewing fictional portrayals of autism has an impact on people’s knowledge of autism and attitudes towards autistic people (Part B). Of 14 studies that were included in Part A, several unhelpful and stereotypical portrayals of autism emerged. Positive portrayals were those that highlighted the strengths of autistic people and reflected nuance. There is a need for greater diversity in representation of autism in fictional media. For example, not all autistic people are white heterosexual males. Across the five studies included in Part B, there were no improvements in people’s knowledge of autism after watching or reading a short segment from a fictional TV series or novel that depicts an autistic person. Although there was a significant improvement in people’s attitudes towards autistic people, these findings do not provide a complete picture given the short length of the media exposure and small number of studies. Future studies should investigate how multiple exposures to the representation of autistic people in both fictional and non-fictional sources can affect people’s understanding of autism. There is also a need to develop more accurate and respectful ways of measuring people’s knowledge of, and attitudes towards, autism.

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TV Series in Mainstream Media Depicting Autism and Self-Diagnosis of Autism in a General Population of Young Adults

Mittmann,

Schrank,

Steiner-Hofbauer

2023

J Autism Dev Disord

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Purpose The prevalence of autism diagnoses has increased in recent years. The portrayal of autistic characters in mainstream media, such as TV series, may be a contributing factor. This study investigated whether young adults who consume media featuring autistic characters are more likely to self-diagnose with autism. Methods 348 participants filled out an online questionnaire exploring their media consumption, subjective diagnosis of autism and objective indicators of autism using an Emotion Recognition Task. Results Results from linear regression analysis indicated a significant correlation between media consumption and self-diagnosis, while valence of the series and objective diagnosis did not have a significant influence. The study found no gender differences. Conclusion The results suggest a need for further research on the relationship between media consumption and self-diagnosis, including for other forms of media beyond TV series.

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Portrayals of autism and social awareness: a scoping review

Cited by 9 publications

References 35 publications

‘Most people have no idea what autism is’: Unpacking autism disclosure using social media analysis

‘Most people have no idea what autism is’: Unpacking autism disclosure using social media analysis

Representation of autism in fictional media: A systematic review of media content and its impact on viewer knowledge and understanding of autism

TV Series in Mainstream Media Depicting Autism and Self-Diagnosis of Autism in a General Population of Young Adults

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