Overall, we found that race, gender, and autistic traits can interact in complex ways. To understand the experiences and needs of Black autistic people, we must take an intersectional approach that accounts for for these nuanced patterns.
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In line with this idea, we also found that the impact of autistic traits on ratings varied by race. For Black autistic adults, having more self-reported autistic traits was linked to more positive impressions. This same pattern did not hold for White autistic adults.
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This finding may reflect masking higher masking in Black autistic people. In my previous study, Black autistic men reported that they frequently masked for their own safety. It's also possible that there are differences in how autistic traits are perceived across identities.
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We found that Black autistic adults were often rated more favorably than White autistic adults. This was unexpected, and to be clear, it doesn’t mean Black autistic people face less stigma. My qualitative work shows that they experience significant bias. So what could explain this finding?
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In our study, non-autistic adults watched brief videos of Black and White autistic adults and rated their first impressions of each person. We looked at traits like likability and trustworthiness, as well as the rater's interest in talking to or hanging out with the person.
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Thanks so much for listening!!

I agree that the framing is very NT oriented! We did have good aside where Steve asked if he was neurodivergent because of his depression, and we talked about inclusivity of the label and how it could potentially be helpful, but it was edited out 😞

Thank you for sharing!!

@noahsasson.bsky.social @drmbothapsych.bsky.social thank you both for all of your support and guidance. I'm so proud of this paper and happy to have it out in the world!

I also encourage anyone who is interested in this topic to read this incredible post from @ayannasanaa.bsky.social

phenomenallyautistic.substack.com/p/why-race-a...

For anyone without journal access, the full preprint is available here:
osf.io/preprints/psy...

#BlackAutisticAdults #Intersectionality #AutismResearch #Neurodiversity #DisabilityJustice #AutismAcceptance
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