Listening to the voices of autism

Summary: A massive study of more than 700,000 Publications of Reddit has provided researchers with a unique window on the experiences of autistic individuals, revealing an approach to the community, personal interests and coping strategies. Using natural language processing, the team grouped publications on recurring topics such as music, food, friendships and emotional challenges.

Instead of pathologizing autism, conversations emphasize neurodiversity and celebrate different ways of thinking. The findings highlight the emotional cost of masking behaviors and the request for clinical approaches that reflect the true concerns of autistic people.

Key facts:

Mass data set: the researchers analyzed more than 700,000 REDDIT publications to understand authentic conversations in autism -related communities. Themes of Connection: Common themes include favorite music, food, social interactions and navigate neurotypic expectations. Place for change: the study urges doctors and educators to prioritize neurodiver voices and get away from defect models.

Source: University of Trent

A group of researchers from the Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences of the University of Trent, together with colleagues from American and British universities and departments, deepened the world of people with autism through their conversations, learning about their interests, the topics they discuss, their needs, tastes and experiences.

They worked from scratch, examining discussions and narratives to shed light on things that generally remain unknown to strangers.

The results of his work are described in an article published by Autism Research: “Speech of autistic spectrum disorders on social media platforms: a study of Reddit publications issues.”

They examined more than 700,000 publications from all over the world that were published anonymously in Reddit in argument forums on autism. A large amount of data that the researchers analyzed with the natural language processing techniques that have allowed to group the writings by macrohemes and thematic content.

The researchers discovered that among the recurring themes in these forums are music, favorite meals and social life. In fact, some request suggestions on how to make friends, while others talk about musical preferences or eating habits. In general, participants have an attitude of support with each other.

The results of this study offer an unprecedented look at the online conversation about autism, which requires a different approach to neurodivergencia, one that does not see it as a disadvantage, but values ​​differences.

Gianluca Esposito, author of the study, explains in this regard: “These discussions do not point to a disability, but highlight a different way of understanding and interpreting the world. These people share personal experiences, where they are not necessarily interpreted negatively. The approach is in neurodiversity, not in a disorder.”

In recent years, much has been written and said about autism, often underlining its symptoms and difficulties. But what emerges from this work is different.

“We begin from the analysis of spontaneous publications of daily life to investigate what are the most recurrent discussion issues and what are, potentially, the more or less functional strategies that people establish to deal with challenges,” says Esposito, who adds: “It is important to understand that autism is not a cognitive disability. Many people still believe this stereotype They show that this is not always always that it is not always always that it is not always whenever this is always whenever this is always so, this is not always whenever this is always.

“There are a series of neurodiversities, which should not be understood as a set of difficulties, but as a set of individual identities: a variety of ways of thinking and perceiving the world that can offer valuable contributions to society and enrich our understanding of human functioning.”

It is important to take into account, as the article is read, that discussions among participants also reflect a deeper challenge: an effort to tune in interpersonal feelings and emotions with external social norms.

Somehow they would like to silence the desire for authenticity in contexts where social expectations may require masking or adapting behaviors.

This is highlighted by Alessandro Carollo, one of the authors of the work: “An aspect that impressed me a lot is to see people with autism suffer and fight when they are forced to meet the neurotypic standards.

“The difficulty is not so related to what we believe is a symptom of neurodivergencia, but with the request to standardize, mask its identity in favor of what is considered a neurotypical behavior.”

What will be the clinical impact of this study?

“The data collected, clarify the Carollo, can help design educational actions to address the real concerns of people with autism, which must be taken into account in general and that cannot always arise during more conventional therapy or research protocols.”

On this autism research news

Author: Alessandra Saletti
Source: University of Trent
Contact: Alessandra Saletti – University of Trent
Image: The image is accredited to Neuroscience News

Original research: open access.
“Speech of autistic spectrum disorders on social media platforms: a study of Reddit publications issues” by Alessandra Saletti et al. Autism research

Abstract

Speech for autistic spectrum disorders on social media platforms: a modeling study of Reddit publications

Social networks platforms play a crucial role in the configuration of public perceptions of neurological development conditions, such as autistic spectrum disorders, providing spaces for community interaction and content exchange.

These platforms have the potential to promote connections and support between autistic people while offering valuable information about their personal personal experiences and perspectives.

However, knowledge is limited in content related to shared autism within Reddit, one of the most prominent social media. In this study, our goal was to examine the discussions and narratives shared in Reddit on autism, with the dual objectives of identifying the main discussion issues and exploring the experiences of autistic people.

To achieve this, we use the latest generation natural language processing techniques to perform a topics modeling analysis in 740,042 publications related to the autism collected from Reddit.

Convergent issues arose when comparing the largest and most general subnet in the data set (R/Autism) with 15 additional subjects related to autism.

The most prominent discussion issues included challenges in social relationships, behaviors such as esteem and sensory sensibilities.

Additional topics highlighted specific emotional experiences and practical concerns, such as handling a diagnosis, navigating intervention options and dealing with daily life.

These findings were organized and discussed in relation to social communication differences and restricted and repetitive behaviors, which are often highlighted in autism discussions.

At the same time, we recognize the perspective of the autistic communities, who consider these traits as differences instead of deficits, with many challenges that arise from social expectations and pressure to mask neurodivergente features.

Together, the results provide a complete description of the most common issues discussed in the content of autism related social networks and offer valuable information about experiences and motivations lived for participation in social networks among autistic people.