Autism-Related Language Preferences of French-Speaking Autistic Adults: An Online Survey

Geelhand, Philippine; Papastamou, Fanny; Belenger, Marie; Clin, Elise; Hickman, Lydia; Keating, Connor Tom; Sowden, Sophie

doi:10.1089/aut.2022.0056

Cited by 27 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 36 publications

(79 reference statements)

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“…These differences may arise due to linguistic differences in the semantics of these terms (e.g., ‘Défi’ may be used more in the context of ‘taking up a challenge’, such as running a marathon or learning a new skill, rather than experiencing something as a difficulty or ‘challenge’), differences in the frequency of use across regions, or differences in beliefs about, and experiences of, autism. Future work should emulate that of Geelhand et al (in press) in other languages. By exploring the linguistic preferences of autistic adults across multiple languages (instead of assuming that their preferences are well aligned with English‐speaking preferences), citizens, researchers and governments can ensure that they use the terminology that is most preferred within their region, thus promoting greater harmony and acceptance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Fortunately, recent work has addressed one limitation of the current study by shedding light on the language preferences of French‐speaking autistic individuals (see Geelhand et al, in press). This study found a similar pattern of results to the current one, with a high endorsement of the French‐equivalent terms for ‘Autism’, ‘Autistic person’, ‘Is autistic’, ‘Neurological/Brain Difference’, ‘Difficulties’, ‘Differences’, ‘Neurotypicals’, and ‘Neurotypical people’.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Autism‐related language preferences of English‐speaking individuals across the globe: A mixed methods investigation

et al. 2022

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Over the past two decades, there have been increasing discussions around which terms should be used to talk about autism. Whilst these discussions have largely revolved around the suitability of identity‐first language and person‐first language, more recently this debate has broadened to encompass other autism‐related terminology (e.g., ‘high‐functioning’). To date, academic studies have not investigated the language preferences of autistic individuals outside of the United Kingdom or Australia, nor have they compared levels of endorsement across countries. Hence, the current study adopted a mixed‐methods approach, employing both quantitative and qualitative techniques, to explore the linguistic preferences of 654 English‐speaking autistic adults across the globe. Despite variation in levels of endorsement between countries, we found that the most popular terms were similar—the terms ‘Autism’, ‘Autistic person’, ‘Is autistic’, ‘Neurological/Brain Difference’, ‘Differences’, ‘Challenges’, ‘Difficulties’, ‘Neurotypical people’, and ‘Neurotypicals’ were consistently favored across countries. Despite relative consensus across groups, both our quantitative and qualitative data demonstrate that there is no universally accepted way to talk about autism. Our thematic analysis revealed the reasons underlying participants’ preferences, generating six core themes, and illuminated an important guiding principle—to respect personal preferences. These findings have significant implications for informing practice, research and language policy worldwide.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autism‐related language preferences of English‐speaking individuals across the globe: A mixed methods investigation

et al. 2022

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“…Language. While the language used to name autistic people seems to have been defined in English (Bottema-Beutel et al, 2021), results regarding the French language are still new (Geelhand et al, 2023). The debate centers around the use of a particle (such as "with" autism or "on" the autism spectrum) or of an adjective (such as personne (n.) autiste (adj.…”

Section: Connecting With Others and Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

“Survival classes for a neurotypical world”: What French autistic adults want and need after receiving an autism diagnosis

Bureau

Clément

2023

Autism

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Research on how adults react to receiving an autism diagnosis is focused on the United States or the United Kingdom context even though cultural differences might have an impact on these experiences. Few interventions for autistic adults exist, and when they do, they are often described as inappropriate. Our study aimed to explore the experiences of French adults diagnosed with autism and the needs they identified following this diagnosis as well as to ask them directly what type of interventions they would have wanted. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 adults and identified three recurring themes: (1) reactions to the diagnosis, (2) relations with others and society, and (3) wants and needs. Results indicated that some experiences were congruent with existing Anglophone literature, while others were heavily influenced by the specific cultural context. Our participants also highlighted a number of unmet needs and offered suggestions for adequate interventions. Lay abstract Adults receiving an autism diagnosis might not react the same depending on their countries or cultures. We also know that autistic people are rarely asked what they think would be best for them following this diagnosis. In this study, we asked 12 French autistic adults about their experiences of receiving an autism diagnosis as well as what they thought might be useful afterwards. Overall, we found that some experiences were similar to experiences related by English or American participants, but some were specific to the French culture, suggesting that such research should expand into new territories and cultures, especially non-European ones. Our participants also had quite a few ideas as to what would be useful for people in the same situation. Some of the suggestions can be put into action by peers and professionals alike, while others are wishes relating to how our participants would like society to behave toward them and people like them, for example. This article allows for a better comprehension of how cultural differences can impact the experience of receiving an autism diagnosis as an adult and provides some insight into what these adults want and desire following such a diagnosis.

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“…Following the preferences expressed by our participants diagnosed with autism, we use identity-first language and refer to them as autistics and autistic adults (consistent with the French-speaking autism community preferences, see Geelhand et al, 2023). Many autistic adults report being overwhelmed when engaging in eye contact with another person (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurotypical, but not autistic, adults might experience distress when looking at someone avoiding eye contact: A live face-to-face paradigm

Clin

Kissine

2023

Autism

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Many autistics report being distressed by eye contact, but eye-tracking studies suggest that eye contact is associated with hypo-arousal rather than hyper-arousal in autism. Within a live face-to-face paradigm combining a wearable eye-tracker with electrodermal activity sensors, 80 adults (40 autistics) defined words in front of an experimenter either staring at their eyes (direct gaze condition) or looking elsewhere (averted gaze condition). Autistics did not differ from neurotypicals in their eye behaviours nor their skin conductance responses. Autistics did not appear distressed when they were looking at the experimenter’s eyes in the direct gaze condition. However, neurotypicals, compared to autistics, might experience more stress when looking at the experimenter in the averted gaze condition, even after controlling for social anxiety and alexithymia. In comparison to autistics, neurotypicals might be hyper-aroused when they look at someone avoiding eye contact. Based on a bidirectional perspective on interactional difficulties in autism, we speculate that the neurotypicals’ distress when their attempts to eye contact are not reciprocated could make their behaviour insistent, which, in turn, could make the autistics uncomfortable. In our study, participants’ partner remained passive, displaying no specific reaction when a mutual gaze was shared or not. Future studies should test different partner reactions to gaze in various social contexts. Lay abstract What is already known about the topic? Autistics are usually reported to share less eye contact than neurotypicals with their interlocutors. However, the reason why autistics might pay less attention to eyes looking at them is still unknown: some autistics express being hyper-aroused by this eye contact, while some eye-tracking studies suggest that eye contact is associated with hypo-arousal in autism. What this paper adds? This study is based on a highly controlled live face-to-face paradigm, combining a wearable eye-tracker (to study eye behaviours) with electrodermal activity sensors (to assess potential stress). We draw a nuanced picture of social attention in autism, as our autistic participants did not differ from our neurotypical group in their eye behaviours nor their skin conductance responses. However, we found that neurotypicals, compared to autistics, seemed to be much more distressed when their interlocutor did not gaze at them during the experiment. Implications for practice, research or policy: Our study encourages to consider social interaction difficulties in autism as a relational issue, instead as an individual deficit. This step might be first taken in research, by implementing paradigms sensitive to the experimenter’s role and attitude.

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Autism-Related Language Preferences of French-Speaking Autistic Adults: An Online Survey

Cited by 27 publications

References 36 publications

Autism‐related language preferences of English‐speaking individuals across the globe: A mixed methods investigation

Autism‐related language preferences of English‐speaking individuals across the globe: A mixed methods investigation

“Survival classes for a neurotypical world”: What French autistic adults want and need after receiving an autism diagnosis

Neurotypical, but not autistic, adults might experience distress when looking at someone avoiding eye contact: A live face-to-face paradigm

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