Autism Spectrum and Developmental Disorders
.jpg "Allison M. Birnschein, M.A. photo")
Allison M. Birnschein, M.A.
Clinical Psychology Graduate Student
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Olivia F. Ward, M.S.
Graduate Student
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Amaya McClain, B.A.
Project Coordinator
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Rachel L. Harmon, B.S.
Graduate Student
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Theodore S. Tomeny, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
In studies assessing non-autistic perceptions of autistic peers, researchers often ask participants to review vignettes depicting fictional autistic characters (e.g., Matthews et al., 2015; Nevill & White, 2011). Although the vignette character’s behaviors are originally designed to reflect behaviors characteristic of autism (Underhill et al., 2019), no extant studies have investigated whether non-autistic peers accurately identify these hypothetical individuals as being on the autism spectrum. Given that knowledge of a peers’ autism diagnosis increases acceptance and inclusion (Sasson & Morrison, 2019), the ability to accurately ascribe autism as a cause of depicted behaviors is likely to influence perceptions of autistic peers. The present study prompted 469 college students (Mage = 18.62; 79.3% female) to ascribe cause(s) of an autistic peers’ behaviors as depicted in a written vignette. Open-ended responses were reviewed and categorized into 17 total categories. The five most ascribed causes of behavior were: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (55.4%), inattention symptoms (20.9%), autism (12.8%), generalized anxiety disorder (11.7%), and hyperactivity (11.3%). Additional ascribed causes include other mental health diagnoses; environmental stressors; and cognitive, emotional, behavioral, biological, or personality characteristics/etiologies. These results indicate that non-autistic college students primarily attribute an autistic vignette character’s behavior to non-autistic origins. As such, non-autistic young adults may not recognize their autistic peers as autistic. Given that autistic individuals are judged less negatively by peers when their diagnosis is known, future anti-stigma interventions should assess the impact of teaching non-autistic peers to accurately identify autism. Additionally, autism-focused researchers using vignettes should assess participants’ knowledge of the character as autistic and interpret their findings with this in mind.
