Clinical Diagnoses Exacerbate Stigma and Improve Self-Discovery According to People With Autism

Abstract

Social workers should become knowledgeable not only of the specific diagnostic changes in DSM-5, but how the diagnoses impact clients. Research primarily confirms that clinical diagnoses exacerbate stigma, while scant research suggests that people with autism have felt that their diagnoses have fostered an understanding of their life circumstances. This phenomenological study aimed to understand how people with Autistic Disorder (AD) and Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) felt about their clinical diagnoses. This study analyzed discussion forum data among people with AD and AS (N = 76) using inductive content analyses. There were more males (n = 42; 55.3%) than females (n = 34; 44.7%) in the sample. Of the 40 participants who provided demographic information, participants’ ages ranged from 17 to 61 (M = 31.95; SD = 12.56); participants were from the United States (n = 13), Canada (n = 7), United Kingdom (n = 6), South Africa (n = 2), and one from each of the following countries: China, New Zealand, and Spain. Most participants expressed that clinical diagnoses exacerbated stigma, yet some also illustrated that their diagnoses improved their self-discovery, which adds a new dimension of understanding to the potential impact and purpose of clinical diagnoses.