‘If I don’t Do It, I’m Out of Rhythm and I Can’t Focus As Well’: Positive and Negative Adult Interpretations of Therapies Aimed at ‘Fixing’ Their Restricted and Repetitive Behaviours in Childhood

Abstract

Restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs) are observed in many children presenting with characteristics of autism and are frequently the targets of psychological interventions. This study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to identify positive and negative interpretations from four young adults who received behavioural interventions in their childhood designed to ‘fix’ RRBs. Two superordinate themes were identified: (1) Doubt, stigma and being fixed according to others, and (2) Embracing Authenticity. They highlighted juxtaposed positions from exclusion, rejection, criticism, and self-doubt in childhood, to rejecting societal censure and embracing authentic growth in adult life. As adults, though the participants recognised themselves as neurologically different from others, they redefined themselves through a lens of neurodiversity, and therefore as not needing to be fixed.

“Comforting, Reassuring, and…Hot”: A Qualitative Exploration of Engaging in Bondage, Discipline, Domination, Submission, Sadism and (Sado)masochism and Kink from the Perspective of Autistic Adults

“…21,22 Interestingly, qualitative studies with autistic people have shown that "stimming" (i.e., self-stimulatory behaviours such as finger tapping, hand flapping, and leg bouncing) elicits similar outcomes regarding emotional regulation and release. 23,24 BDSM practitioners often report that participating in physical bondage (e.g., using rope to restrict movement) can elicit a sense of safety and calmness in those who are bound. 25 This parallels autistic people's use of therapeutic tools, such as weighted blankets, to reduce anxiety and promote calmness.…”

“I’ve carried my misery into other relationships”: Redefining and healing self from the intimate dysfunction of sibling mental ill-health.

“…For a sibling, looking back from the perspective of adult life, it is possible that growing up with a mentally ill sibling is remembered as traumatic and destabilizing. Similarly, as traumatic experiences can be the springboard for posttrauma growth, such experiences may transform future life trajectories (McCormack et al, 2023). Therefore, this phenomenological study seeks the “lived” interpreted experience of growing up with a sibling with mental ill-health from an adult perspective.…”