Myths about autism: An exploratory study using focus groups

Individuals with autism are often stigmatised and isolated by their typically developing peers according to parental, teacher and self-reports. While quantitative studies often report negative attitudes towards individuals with autism, it is still unclear how understandings of autism influence attit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Autism : the international journal of research and practice 2018-10, Vol.22 (7), p.845-854
Main Authors: John, Rachael PS, Knott, Fiona J, Harvey, Kate N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ability
Attitudes
Autism
Child & adolescent psychiatry
Content analysis
Focus groups
Graduate students
Lay conceptions
Misconceptions
Mythology
Qualitative research
Sampling
Social interaction
Stigma
Teachers
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Summary:Individuals with autism are often stigmatised and isolated by their typically developing peers according to parental, teacher and self-reports. While quantitative studies often report negative attitudes towards individuals with autism, it is still unclear how understandings of autism influence attitudes. In this exploratory study, misconceptions or myths about autism, that is, the cognitive component of attitudes, were examined using focus groups. Purposive sampling was used to recruit undergraduate and postgraduate students, and adults with and without experience of autism, to one of the five focus groups (n = 37). Content analysis was used to identify emergent themes. The data identified seven commonly held beliefs about individuals with autism. The first four were related to social interaction, such as that people with autism do not like to be touched. The fifth reflected the view that all individuals with autism have a special talent, and the final two concerned beliefs that people with autism are dangerous. The findings from this study demonstrate that people with varying experience or knowledge of autism often hold inaccurate beliefs about autism. These findings improve our understandings of lay beliefs about autism and will aid the development and implementation of interventions designed to improve lay knowledge of autism.
ISSN:1362-3613
1461-7005
DOI:10.1177/1362361317714990