ABSTRACT
Deficit narratives have reduced the autistic young person’s sense of self to a definition of ‘lack’, characterising autistic adolescents’ self-understanding as missing an essential ‘norm’ of social influence. The research reported on here challenges such discourses, arguing that employing alternative, inclusive research methods can enable autistic adolescents to share a complex and varied sense of self. This is a self which is influenced by, and interacts with, the social arena, including the key social environment of school. The findings, as presented through poetic transcription, incorporate the views of autistic adolescent pupils who attended a mainstream secondary school. The data illustrates how the self-view can be negatively influenced by comparisons with peers, and by the judgements of those peers. It also considers how autistic adolescents attempt to position themselves, aiming to be viewed positively by their peers and teaching staff. This demonstrates an understanding of how the self can be presented in varying social contexts to influence the perceptions of others. In so doing, the findings act as a counter to deficit-focused characterisations, illustrating how the sense of self of the autistic young people involved is both conceptualised and negotiated within the social world.
Keywords: autism, social self, inclusive methods
