It’s not that I'm "abnormal". Social and emotional experiences of women with autism spectrum (AS) related to the diagnosis in adulthood

The paper is part of a research project related to the preparation of the master’s thesis of Magdalena Wala, a fifth-year student of Special Education, prepared under the scientific supervision of Dr. Sabina Pawlik. The research concerns the social and emotional experiences of women diagnosed as la...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sabina Pawlik, Magdalena Wala
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa 2024-12-01
Series:Edukacyjna Analiza Transakcyjna
Subjects:
Online Access:https://czasopisma.ujd.edu.pl/index.php/EAT/article/view/2326
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832573408904216576
author Sabina Pawlik
Magdalena Wala
author_facet Sabina Pawlik
Magdalena Wala
author_sort Sabina Pawlik
collection DOAJ
description The paper is part of a research project related to the preparation of the master’s thesis of Magdalena Wala, a fifth-year student of Special Education, prepared under the scientific supervision of Dr. Sabina Pawlik. The research concerns the social and emotional experiences of women diagnosed as late as in adulthood. Compared to men, women are more likely to remain undiagnosed in childhood, thus belonging to the so-called “lost generation”, i.e. people who are deprived of the opportunity to be diagnosed in childhood. One of the reasons is that women with autism spectrum (AS) have a different behavioral pattern (female autism phenotype) than men and the established diagnostic practices are focused on the basic characteristics of AS that were historically established based on the symptoms in men. The aim of the research was to learn about the social and emotional experiences of women with AS who were diagnosed in adulthood. It was associated with women’s experiences before the diagnosis (related to the diagnostic process itself) and experiences after the diagnosis. The research found that women with AS in adulthood saw the value of the diagnosis in the form of increased self-knowledge, liberation from stigmatizing labels, finding their “tribe” and the possibility of receiving forms of support adequate to their condition.
format Article
id doaj-art-3db315293807458da3ed798c330a5944
institution Kabale University
issn 2299-7466
2658-1825
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa
record_format Article
series Edukacyjna Analiza Transakcyjna
spelling doaj-art-3db315293807458da3ed798c330a59442025-02-02T04:04:53ZengJan Długosz University in CzęstochowaEdukacyjna Analiza Transakcyjna2299-74662658-18252024-12-011310.16926/eat.2024.13.20It’s not that I'm "abnormal". Social and emotional experiences of women with autism spectrum (AS) related to the diagnosis in adulthoodSabina Pawlik0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9775-7856Magdalena Wala1Silesian UniversityUniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach The paper is part of a research project related to the preparation of the master’s thesis of Magdalena Wala, a fifth-year student of Special Education, prepared under the scientific supervision of Dr. Sabina Pawlik. The research concerns the social and emotional experiences of women diagnosed as late as in adulthood. Compared to men, women are more likely to remain undiagnosed in childhood, thus belonging to the so-called “lost generation”, i.e. people who are deprived of the opportunity to be diagnosed in childhood. One of the reasons is that women with autism spectrum (AS) have a different behavioral pattern (female autism phenotype) than men and the established diagnostic practices are focused on the basic characteristics of AS that were historically established based on the symptoms in men. The aim of the research was to learn about the social and emotional experiences of women with AS who were diagnosed in adulthood. It was associated with women’s experiences before the diagnosis (related to the diagnostic process itself) and experiences after the diagnosis. The research found that women with AS in adulthood saw the value of the diagnosis in the form of increased self-knowledge, liberation from stigmatizing labels, finding their “tribe” and the possibility of receiving forms of support adequate to their condition. https://czasopisma.ujd.edu.pl/index.php/EAT/article/view/2326autism spectrumfemale autism phenotypediagnosisbiographical narrative interview
spellingShingle Sabina Pawlik
Magdalena Wala
It’s not that I'm "abnormal". Social and emotional experiences of women with autism spectrum (AS) related to the diagnosis in adulthood
Edukacyjna Analiza Transakcyjna
autism spectrum
female autism phenotype
diagnosis
biographical narrative interview
title It’s not that I'm "abnormal". Social and emotional experiences of women with autism spectrum (AS) related to the diagnosis in adulthood
title_full It’s not that I'm "abnormal". Social and emotional experiences of women with autism spectrum (AS) related to the diagnosis in adulthood
title_fullStr It’s not that I'm "abnormal". Social and emotional experiences of women with autism spectrum (AS) related to the diagnosis in adulthood
title_full_unstemmed It’s not that I'm "abnormal". Social and emotional experiences of women with autism spectrum (AS) related to the diagnosis in adulthood
title_short It’s not that I'm "abnormal". Social and emotional experiences of women with autism spectrum (AS) related to the diagnosis in adulthood
title_sort it s not that i m abnormal social and emotional experiences of women with autism spectrum as related to the diagnosis in adulthood
topic autism spectrum
female autism phenotype
diagnosis
biographical narrative interview
url https://czasopisma.ujd.edu.pl/index.php/EAT/article/view/2326
work_keys_str_mv AT sabinapawlik itsnotthatimabnormalsocialandemotionalexperiencesofwomenwithautismspectrumasrelatedtothediagnosisinadulthood
AT magdalenawala itsnotthatimabnormalsocialandemotionalexperiencesofwomenwithautismspectrumasrelatedtothediagnosisinadulthood