This study collected information from 115 autistic and parents of autistic adolescents and adults regarding their experiences with being represented and treated respectfully in a neurotypical-based society. A neurotypical is defined as any individual who is not characterized as autistic or having any other neurological or developmental disorders or disabilities.

This study looked to investigate the hypothesis that autistic adolescents and adults receive significantly less accommodation and representation as compared overall with autistic children, and that this discrepancy can be attributed to neurotypical perceptions and treatment of autistic individuals. The findings overall supported this hypothesis and attributed the lack of accommodations with society’s infantilization of autism. Infantilization is the act of treating someone or something in a condescending or differed way, as if they were a child incapable of higher thought or ability. This infantilization of autism is often perpetuated further by neurotypical peers and even parents if autistic children, causing a misrepresentation for older autistic adolescents and adults.

Extrait

Abstract

This study collected information from 115 autistic and parents of autistic adolescents and adults regarding their experiences with being represented and treated respectfully in a neurotypical- based society. A neurotypical is defined as any individual who is not characterized as autistic or having any other neurological or developmental disorders or disabilities. This study looked to investigate the hypothesis that autistic adolescents and adults receive significantly less accommodation and representation as compared overall with autistic children, and that this discrepancy can be attributed to neurotypical perceptions and treatment of autistic individuals. The findings overall supported this hypothesis and attributed the lack of accommodations with society’s infantilization of autism. Infantilization is the act of treating someone or something in a condescending or differed way, as if they were a child incapable of higher thought or ability. This infantilization of autism is often perpetuated further by neurotypical peers and even parents if autistic children, causing a misrepresentation for older autistic adolescents and adults.

Representation And Assistance For Autistic Adults: A Case Study

Autism Spectrum Disorder has become a hot topic both in and out of disability circles in the last decades, with heated debates and attitudes on both sides. Recently, with the steady rise of the Neurodiversity and Disability acceptance movements, there has been a push from the autistic adult community to investigate why autistic adults receive less positive representation in the media, and less accommodations than autistic children (Stevenson, 2011).

Research and personal interviews have confirmed that autistic adults suffer from a lack of services to support and accommodate their needs, whereas autistic children may benefit from a wide array of service and accommodations through school or groups. A large portion of autistic adults cannot go on to succeed in a job or in college because of a lack of services, as compared to their high school careers (Harrison, 2015). Statistics show this lack of services in the transition to adulthood has led to: 28% of autistic young adults being unemployed, and only 36% attending post-secondary education. (Harrison, 2015) Though it was found a good number of autistic adults in their 20s, 58%, could find work, many did so part-time and for lower pay wages than neurotypicals and individuals with other disabilities. (Harrison 2015) Statistics by Harrison also found that only 58% of autistic youth had transition to adulthood services, often because of lack of disclosure. Likewise, only 40% of individuals who disclosed their disability, in a workplace or post-secondary school, got any sort of help or accommodations. (Harrison 2015). The lack of access to services for autistic adults is then overshadowed by the issue of the lack of services at all. A 2011 study looked at a search of the 12 largest nonprofit autism-related organizations, to identify what assistance they had for what age ranges. It was found that 9 of the 12 only mentioned and offered assistance and descriptions for autistic children, with no mention or comment on autistic older teens and adults. (Stevenson 2011) In addition, the few charities that gave comment on autistic adults, would still post photos or articles of the adult individual with a child as well, such as photos of an adult and child, or writing about an autistic parent with an autistic child as well; there was very rarely any reference to any isolated autistic adults. (Stevenson 2011). There is very little research on what support could help autistic people, rather most of the money from autism-related groups goes into the search for a cure, and of that very little research is on adults. (Carpenter 2015)

In addition to lacking services of assistance, autistic adults are also lacking strong support systems, especially when they need it most in the transition to independence. One of the biggest issues for many autistic people is that they appear “normal” and not disabled. Autism, being an invisible disability, can make others unaware that someone has the disability and may make judgements about that person and their actions without that knowledge. (Carpenter 2015) A common trait in autistic people is a difficulty managing emotions, being prone to anger or meltdowns, which are often wrongfully interpreted by neurotypicals and could lead to autistic adults being fired from a job or worse. (Carpenter 2015) Another unfortunate lack of support could come from an autistic individual’s own parents. While many support groups and organizations are run by parents, they often have a shift with problem-oriented coping, trying to mask their child’s autistic traits so eventually their child may be a “normal” adult. (Stevenson 2011) This can lead to many parents claiming autistic adults can’t and don’t exist, or unfortunately, refusing to help their own children once they become older. (Stevenson 2011) Sadly, statistics show that 27% of autistic teens and adults are no longer given support from their families and are often left to essentially fend for themselves. (Harrison 2015)

Because of the lack of services and support, many autistic adolescents and adults struggle with finding and keeping a job they enjoy. Often if an autistic person can find a job, they are fired or forced to quit because of issues or misunderstandings with coworkers. (Carpenter 2015) One study found that only half of young adults with autism had ever worked a job outside of the home post-high school, which is the lowest employment rate among all disability groups studied. (Roux 2013) It was also found that young adults who were working only made an average of $8.10 an hour, much lower than the average rates for neurotypicals in the same age groups. (Roux 2013) One autistic adult, after several different jobs could find a stable one, noted that his success in finding a job can be attributed to getting accommodations and therapy, as well as being able to work mainly alone in a quiet environment. (Carpenter 2015)

Likely the biggest reason autistic adults have less assistance in our society today may come from day to day thin slice judgements from neurotypicals around them. The commonly biggest difficulty for autistic individuals is everyday social situations, and this difficulty often comes from the perceptions, judgements, and social decisions made by neurotypicals around them. One study observed neurotypicals and autistic individuals meeting and having a brief conversation, and then discussing their thought on the other person afterwards. It was found that individuals with ASD were immediately judged more negatively, with scores high in how awkward they were, as well as low approachability, and low likelihood of friendship. (Sasson 2017) This same study also conducted a similar procedure where neurotypicals watched a video interview of an autistic individual and were asked to describe them afterwards. It was found that neurotypicals gave the autistic individuals low scores for “likely to start a conversation”, “has a lot of friends”, and “gets along well with others.” (Sasson 2017) Contrasting this, neurotypicals participants also gave autistic individuals high scores for “spends a lot of time alone”, and “awkward person.” (Sasson 2017) These results show that many issues autistic adults may face in social interaction, may rely on the snap judgements and perspectives of neurotypicals who are less likely to interact with individuals they perceive as “strange” or “awkward”.

Autistic young adults and adults have less representation and assistance than autistic children, through the forms of lacking services, support, having issues with employment, and having a predisposition to being less favored by neurotypicals. But now the question comes to why is this happening to autistic adults, and the main answer may lie in the public infantilization of autism in the western world. Disabled adults in general are common thought of as childlike or said to have “the mind of a child” in a condescending way, much of this can be attributed to the idea of the “autistic poster child.” This idea comes from depictions of autism being an epidemic, a monster that kidnaps and steals away your once “normal” children and ruining everyone’s life. (Stevenson 2011) This depiction is often used to exploit parent’s fears and unknowing into doing whatever the perpetrator says will save their child, so acknowledging that autistic adults even exist would jeopardize the fear-based fundraising scheme. Many parents also enhance the myth that autistic adults do not exist, often through their own parent-run organizations and charities. A tally was taken on photographs used on the websites for parent-run autism groups, and it was found that of the 152 photographs studied, 95% of them were of children, further showing that the face of autism is that of a child’s. (Stevenson 2011) Parent organizations are not the only ones to have this issue, however, it was found that 9 of the 12-top revenue-generating autism charities only used child-based language and teaching materials. (Stevenson 2011)

The perceptions from charities and organizations have had a huge role in shaping the public ideas of autism, even reflecting on popular media that is consumed daily. When a poll was taken on fictional books, looking at books that contained an autistic or ASD character, the clear majority, 90% of the 105 books featured, were found to feature autistic children, with rarely a mention of an autistic adult, further infantilizing autism. (Stevenson 2011) Film and television shows were found to be no better, with 68% of the autistic characters of the 83 story lines studied, being children. (Stevenson 2011)

The U.S. News industry is known to document the most current ideas of all aspects of society, including disabilities. Because parents of autistic children promote only autistic children, charities only refer to and assist children, and the entertainment industry only shows child characters, it is very likely the U.S. News will have a similar swayed perception. A Google search of articles involving autism was conducted, and it was found that 79% of the articles featured a story about an autistic child. (Stevenson 2011) It is also to be noted that of the articles that did feature autistic adults, a third of them mentioned by name and mainly featured the lives and coping of the parents of those autistic adults, still putting the autistic individuals into a child- like role. (Stevenson 2011)

In addition to the infantilization of ASD, another large factor in autistic adult’s struggle is abuse. It if found about half of autistic young adults were victims of bullying in school, and 27% of that half were also subject to abuse of all kinds well into adulthood, often perpetuated by parents or even autism charities. (Harrison 2015)

For this study, I have chosen to use the qualitative method of research. I believe qualitative will be more effective and beneficial for this topic because of the minimal focus on statistics, and more focus on one-on-one experiences with people. For these questions, I am asking about individuals’ lives and experiences, using case studies and personal accounts are more appropriate than statistics and numerical accounts. These personal-based methods allow me to properly explore my hypothesis, that autistic adolescents and adults receive less assistance and representation than autistic children. A qualitative method of research allows me, the researcher, to go in depth with the participants in a more comfortable and personal way than a traditional quantitative study could allow.

Participants in this study will be chosen based on age and diagnosis, or relation to a child with an autism diagnosis. Responses will be received by autistic adults and autistic adolescents aged 14 and above. In addition, responses will also be received from parents of autistic adults and/or adolescents. These groups have been selected because I hypothesize they experience issues regarding assistance and representation more so than younger groups.

In addition to these participants, case studies will be observed from the Stevenson 2011 study Infantilizing Autism, Sasson 2017 study Neurotypical Peers are Less Willing to Interact with Those with Autism based on Thin Slice Judgments, the Roux 2013 study Postsecondary Employment Experiences Among Young Adults With an Autism Spectrum Disorder, the Carpenter 2015 article For Adults with Autism, a Lack of Support When They Need It Most, and the Harrison 2015 article titled Are Services lacking for Young Adults with Autism? I believe this mix of personal reports and previously done studies will create a good mix of data to discuss.

Materials and Procedures

For this study, I will be administering an online survey, through Google Forms, which will be open for responses for two weeks. This survey will contain the following questions: 1 - Age, 2 - Your name and pronouns (this question will be optional, but some may feel it is relevant), 3 - Are you autistic or the parent of an autistic person- with the ability to choose from the options: autistic adult, autistic adolescent, parent of autistic adult, parent of autistic adolescent, self-diagnosed autistic adult, and self-diagnosed autistic adolescent, 4 - When were you/you child diagnosed, 5 - Are you/your child currently in schooling, 6 - Are you/ your child currently employed, 7 - Do you/your child receive accommodations at work/school, 8 - Did you/your child receive accommodations in the past- 9 -if yes, was it more or less than now, 10 - Which of these charities do you support: Autism Speaks, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Autism Women’s Network, National Autistic Society, and Other (fill in own response), 11 - Do you believe autism is represented accurately in the media, 12 - Do you believe neurotypicals understand/can understand autism, 13 - What do you believe is the most common misconception about autism, 14 - How do you feel you are treated by neurotypicals, 15 - Do you feel you/your child get the support you need, and finally 16 - Do you feel comfortable talking about your/your child’s autism around neurotypicals?

This survey will be linked on Tumblr, in the communities for autistic individuals, as well as on reddit for autism and parents of autistic children communities, to gain a wide range of responses. After the two-week period, the responses will be collected and organized into charts through the Google analysis section, to be easy to read and comprehend.

After the two-week period the online survey was closed off, with a total of 115 responses. Shown through questions 1 and 3, most responses came from professionally diagnosed autistic adults, that being 69.3% of all responses, with the bulk coming from the age of 19. It was also found that 10.5% were autistic adolescents, 9.6% identified as self-diagnosed adults, 3.5% were self-diagnosed adolescents, 6.1% were the parents of an autistic adolescent, and 0.9% were the parents of an autistic adult (see Figures 1 and 2). Question 4 shows that a majority 55.7% of participants were diagnosed as adults rather than as a child, with 44.3% having been diagnosed in childhood (Figure 3). Questions 5 and 6 displayed that a majority 51.3% are not in schooling, and a majority 60% are unemployed. Conversely, 48.7% of participants are currently attending school, 24.3% are in part-time jobs, and 15.7% work full-time jobs (Figures 4 and 5). In questions 7 and 8 it was shown that a majority 64.3% currently receive no accommodations, as well as a majority 55.7% receiving no accommodations in the past in work or school (Figures 6 and 7). Question 9 then showed that of the 44.3% that received any accommodations in the past, most 42.2% receive the same amount as they do currently (Figure 8). Contrary to this, 35.7% of responses said they currently receive accommodations, as well as 44.3% receiving them in the past (Figures 6 and 7). Of the participants that received any accommodation in the past and currently, 28.1% received more in the past, and 29.7% received less (Figure 8). In question 10, when asked about charity affiliations and support, the majority with 53.9% support the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. For other charities, 35.7% support Autism Women’s’ Network, 4.3% support Autism Speaks, 10.4% support Autism Support Network, 20.9% support the National Autism Society, and 41.7% Support none or some other charity not listed (Figure 9). Question 11 was met with overwhelming response, with 83.5% of participants saying autism spectrum is not portrayed accurately in the media, 2.6% saying it is accurately portrayed, and 13.9% filling in the other response (Figure 10). Questions 12 and 13 were offered for participants to write their own responses and experiences, to gain a more personal understanding of their experience. Question 15 had the majority response of 50.4% saying they do not receive the proper support they need. On the other side, 23.5% of participants claimed they did receive all support they needed, and 26.1% chose the other option (Figure 11). Finally, in question 16, much of responses, 40%, claimed they did not feel comfortable talking about their diagnosis around neurotypicals, 29.6% saying they did feel comfortable talking about autism with neurotypicals, and 30.4% choosing the fill-in other option (Figure 12).

In this study of 115 autistic adolescents and adults, my hypothesis, that they receive less accommodation and representation, was proved to be correct. It was found that much of this lack of accommodations and support can be attributed largely in part to the treatment and misperceptions from neurotypical peers and outsiders. This can and has led to lower education and employment rates from autistic young adults, in addition to a general discomfort from autistic people and a reluctance to interact with neurotypicals unless proved necessary.

In question 7 (as seen in Figure 6) it was found that most autistic adults and adolescents studied currently receive no accommodations in school or the workplace, at 64.3%. This is shown to be consistent with previous research findings, where only 40% of people who disclose their diagnosis receive any assistance (Harrison 2015). This high account for lack of accommodations may also be attributed to the statistic that only 58% of autistic young adults have services designed to help in the transition into the adult world, with advanced schooling and work (Harrison 2015). It was also found through question 8 (Figure 7) and question 9 (Figure 8)

44.3% of responses receives accommodations in the past, in childhood. Of that 44.3%, 28.1% received more in the past than now, 29.7% receive more now, and a large 42.2% receive the same amount in the past and present. This interestingly did not align with previous research found, which stated “during the transition period to adulthood, there is a marked decrease in young adult’s access to autism services” (Harrison 2015). This discrepancy may be due to my study having a large age range, along with responses from many different countries, with many different possibilities for accommodations compared to the previous study.

In questions 6, as seen in Figure 5, it was found that many responders, 60%, are not employed, and of the 40% that are, 24.3% work part-time, and 15.7% work full-time. This strongly correlates with previous studies showing that of all disability groups, autistic adults show the lowest employment rates (Roux 2013). Possibly due to social issues, autistic individuals show extreme difficulty finding and keeping steady jobs (Roux 2013). It has also been shown that autistic individuals are much more likely to work part-time only and receive lower wages (Roux 2013). This too correlates to what has been found in my observations, where most participants with jobs, only work part-time.

Like question 6, question 5 (Figure 4) looked at participant’s academic status, and found that 51.3% are not in any kind of schooling, with 48.7% being in school. This does show a slight correlation with previous analyses. One study found that only 36% of autistic young adults attended postsecondary education after high school, often due to struggles with class or social issues (Harrison 2015). Though there is a slight leaning in this study towards non-schooling, it should be noted many of those responses may be attributed to the older adults who are past the age of organized schooling. It is hard to say in good conscience if this study shows an accurate correlation with the previous findings, and in the future for another study I may go into more detail with the question, asking also if the individual had attended schooling in the past and up to what grade year/academic level. This may ensure more accurate insight to compare to past studies.

Question 12 asked participants for their opinion on if neurotypicals can understand autism in any way. 59 responses game a hard no, 35 gave a yes answer, and 21 chose the “other” option and filled in their own responses. All the 21 “other” responses cited that it would depend on the neurotypical individual’s education and closeness to autistic individuals, and that some had the capacity to understand but not in the same way of an actual autistic person. Much of the strong “no” response may be attributed to how autistic people are treated by neurotypical peers.

It has been found that individuals with ASD are automatically judged more negatively when observed by neurotypicals (Sasson 2017). In that study, it was found that neurotypicals, after observing an autistic person having a conversation, described the individual as “weird,” “awkward,” and “a loner” (Sasson 2017). This harsher treatment may be why many autistic individuals feel as though neurotypicals do not properly understand what autism is and its effects on a person. Other studies have also found links to parents and charity organizations spreading lies and misinformation about autism to the public, further confusing neurotypicals. Many parents of autistic children and parent-run organizations often infantilize the disorder, as well as perpetuate the myth that autistic kids can “grow out” of it once they become older teens and adults (Stevenson 2011). In addition, many autism charities use child-referencing vocabulary and imagery on promotional materials and advertising, further pushing that autism is an issue for only young kids, and that adults won’t experience any difficulties (Stevenson 2011). These findings also tie into my study, seeing that neurotypicals often gain misinformation about autism can further cause them appearing to not understand to actual autistic individuals.

Tying into question 12, question 13 asked participants how they felt they were treated by neurotypical peers. In this, 57 responses felt they were treated poorly, 28 are treated well, and 30 chose the “other” fill-in option. Of the “other” responses claimed that it was situational, depending on who it was around them, and how they were doing on that day. This is consistent with previous studies, showing that neurotypicals do treat autistic individuals differently. It has been found that autistic people commonly receive harsher judgement on first meeting with neurotypicals, as compared to one neurotypical person meeting another (Sasson 2017). In addition, it was also found that neurotypicals often avoid interaction with autistic people, deeming them “weird” or ‘awkward’ and wanting to stay away from them based on thin-slice judgements (Sasson 2017). Looking at this it is easy to find a possible reasoning for why autistic people may feel they are treated poorly. Neurotypicals are not likely to start conversation to attempt to befriend an autistic individual, which can cause further social isolation for autistic individuals (Sasson 2017). In addition to general passive avoidance, it has been found that neurotypicals are also prone to bullying and abuse of autistic peers. It is shown that autistic adolescents are prone to all kinds of bullying and abuse with “nearly half being victims of bullying, mainly during high school” (Harrison 2015). The responses received for question 13 correlate strongly with these findings, with the majority feeling they were/are treated in general poorly by neurotypicals around them, with even many “other responses” noting past bullying that was eventually resolved post-schooling.

In question 15, as seen in Figure 11, it was found that 50.4% of responses felt they did not receive the support that they need, 23.5% do, and 26.1% chose the fill-in “other” option. Of the “other” responses, all claimed that the amount of support would depend strongly on who they were with at the time, and where they were. Many responses brought up that support from others could fluctuate given these values. These numbers line up closely to previous studies, one of which notes that many autistic adults, in an attempt to hide traits and appear “normal,” they may lead the appearance of not needing any extra support or accommodation (Carpenter 2015). If an individual doesn’t try to hide their traits, showing them could also lead to misunderstandings, leading to possible troubles in public (Carpenter 2015). This double standard, not showing traits means you don’t need anything, but showing traits make you “weird” and “inappropriate,” may be one of the key factors of autistic adolescents and adults not receiving support they need from neurotypical peers. Another study, after interviewing several autistic adolescents and adults, found that 27% of autistic teens and adults are no longer given needed support from families (Harrison 2015). This statistic may also tie into my study’s findings, showing that many autistic individuals in the age range of my study experience a disconnect and lack of support from those who may have previously provided needed accommodation and understanding. This lack of needed support may only lead to more feelings of maltreatment and discomfort around neurotypicals from autistic individuals.

In survey question 11, also seen in Figure 10, participants were asked if they believe autism as a whole is represented accurately in the media, as representation is a crucial element to understanding and acceptance for anything. It was found that 83.5% of responses did not believe the representations were accurate, only 2.6% did find them accurate, and 13.9% chose the “other” option. Nearly all the “other” options noted that the media can be hit-or-miss in terms of accuracy, depending on the media source, what it’s about, and who it’s about, all of which are valid statements. These responses show a very strong correlation with the finding of previous works, observing how autistic adults are portrayed in media works. In short, autistic adults are very rarely ever portrayed. It was found, in a study looking at 105 different books about an autistic character, 90% were young children, with no notions of their eventual older-adolescent and adult years (Stevenson 2011). It was also observed, of 83 unique television and film stories, 68% of autistic characters are, once again, young children (Stevenson 2011). Seeing such a large amount of, often inaccurately written, media based solely on children could be a large contributing factor to autistic adolescents and adults feeling left out and misrepresented in the public eye. In addition to observing fictional stories, Stevenson’s 2011 study also looked at U.S. news stories featuring autistic individuals. It was found that news stories were 79% more likely to feature autistic children rather than autistic adults (Stevenson 2011). It was also found, of the stories that would feature autistic adults, the article would also often mention the individual’s parents by name, which still perpetuates the myths and stereotypes of autistic individuals being childlike and incapable to take care of themselves (Stevenson 2011). Looking at these articles, which are often shared and spread around through neurotypical parents and peers, can further alienate autistic adults, creating further gaps between actual autistic people and the media’s misrepresentations.

Shown through the results from questions 11, 12, 13, and 15, many autistic adults feel a disconnect from neurotypical peers, which may be largely due to a lack of knowledge, or misinformation about autism from neurotypicals, which can lead to misunderstandings or even mistreatment towards autistic adolescents and adults. In question 16, as seen also in Figure 12, participants were asked if they felt comfortable talking about their autism and its effects around neurotypicals. Responses showed that 40% are not comfortable talking about autism around neurotypicals, 29.6% do feel comfortable, and 30.4% chose the fill-in “other” option. Of the “other” responses, most consist of responses such as “it depends in my relation to the neurotypical, if they are my partner, parent, doctor etc./depends on how much they actually know about autism.” This response falls right in line with the previous responses to questions 11, 12, 13, and 15, and brings up the common factor that a lack of understanding from neurotypical peers may be the biggest reason autistic adults are not receiving the support and accommodation they require to live comfortably.

As with any study, there were several drawbacks and challenges that may have skewed

results and made some information too unstable to properly analyze in good conscience. The first being the sheer number of responses, at 115, proved difficult to gather all the individual data to break down and analyze in detail. This may be attributed to the large number of fill-in type answers, intended to allow participants to give detailed personal stories and account, proved difficult to properly break down, categorize, and gain statistics from. In addition to the difficulties analyzing information, some of the questions, specifically 13, 12, and 16, may have been considered too open-ended to gain good overall response relevant to the original question’s intent. If I were to write the questions over, I would be more specific about what I intended to ask and how the answers would be analyzed. In the end, in the analysis stage, I also realized some questions, 10 and 14, were not even fully relevant to my hypothesis or the articles used for comparison, and these responses were essentially filler information. One main overall limitation was that the survey was done online through an anonymous system. This eliminates the opportunity to have full conversations/case studies of select individuals, and opens the unfortunate possibility of lies/false information being reported and skewing results. Overall if I was to redo or repeat this study, I would fix these points and ideally conduct the study from a pick of 20 individuals, with confirmed diagnosis, to be asked the questions in person, to ensure more accurate results as well as allow for more personal stories and accounts.

Carpenter, S. (2015, March 23). For Adults with Autism, a Lack of Support When They Need It Most. The Washington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2017, from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-37788504.html?refid=easy_hf

Harrison, P. (2015). Are Services lacking for Young Adults with Autism? Medscape, 1-3. Retrieved February 1, 2017, from Medscape.org/viewarticle/847108

Roux, A. M., Shattuck, P. T., Cooper, B. P., Anderson, K. A., Wagner, M., & Narendorf, S. C. (2013). Postsecondary Employment Experiences Among Young Adults With an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(9), 931-939. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2013.05.019

Sasson, N. J., Faso, D. J., Nugent, J., Lovell, S., Kennedy, D. P., & Grossman, R. B. (2017). Neurotypical Peers are Less Willing to Interact with Those with Autism based on Thin Slice Judgments. Scientific Reports, 7, 40700. doi:10.1038/srep40700

Stevenson, J. L., Harp, B., & Gernsbacher, M. A. (2011). Infantilizing Autism. Disability Studies Quarterly, 31(3). doi:10.18061/dsq.v31i3.1675