by Katie Munday (they / them)
Abstract / summary: Clinical impressions suggest a significant overlap of Autistic and transgender / non-binary identities. Most of this work focuses on prevalence rates and the perspectives of non-Autistic cisgender professionals and parent / carers, leaving the narratives of trans Autistic people overlooked. This study aimed to share trans Autistic narratives to contribute to knowledge around our lived experiences, as well as creating recommendations for future research in this area. This study represents findings from interviews with thirteen transgender and / or non-binary Autistic people (ages 20 to 50). Of interest was the way participant’s expressed their intersecting identities through narrative methods and what recommendations they would make for future research on transgender Autistic experiences. Participants spoke about a variety of life experiences including mental health issues, making and maintaining relationships, future aspirations and experiences with employment. Participants also gave recommendations for future work, including diversifying participant pools by ethnicity, age, physical disability and gender identity, as well as participatory approaches which include gender divergent Autistic people at all levels of study.
Read the rest of the article at Autistic and Living the Dream