ARCAP Webinar – Social media conversations: What have we learnt about Autistic disclosure and burnout?

Among the hubbub of social media lies a wealth of authentic insights and perspectives that can tell us much about people’s real-life experiences. Autism researchers are beginning to realise the advantage of mining social media in addition to traditional research methodologies that require a researcher to recruit and ask research participants questions. Analysing raw data obtained from social media platforms minimises researcher involvement and allows a more naturalistic look into the communities experiences.

In this free webinar, autism researchers from ARCAP and La Trobe University will discuss how they explored social media to gain insights into the disclosure and burnout experiences of Autistic people.

The presentations will include a live Q&A session with the presenters.

Who

This webinar is recommended for:

• Researchers
• Teachers
• Therapists
• Psychologists
• Autistic people and their families

Program and presenters

For many Autistic people and their family and carers, social media and the use of technology is an ideal method of communication, interaction, community, and support. With growing conversation around autism on social media platforms, researchers are considering the benefits and challenges of social media as a source for knowledge around Autistic community and experiences. Emerging research has explored topics in autism research including identity and diagnosis and notable benefits and challenges exist when using public data of this kind, instead of traditional recruitment methodologies.

Autism disclosure on Reddit and Twitter: What are people saying?

Dr Chris Edwards, Aspect Research Centre for Autism Practice (ARCAP)

Autism disclosure can be a complicated decision that Autistic people experience. There has been a call for future research to better capture ‘real-life’ experiences. Therefore, we wanted to see what people were saying on public social platforms about autism disclosure. This presentation will summarise three years (2020–2022) of related posts from Reddit and Twitter. These findings will be discussed as to how society can better support Autistic people navigating this decision.

What are Autistic people saying online about Autistic burnout?

Jane Mantzalas, Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre at La Trobe University

Autistic burnout is a debilitating condition that can affect Autistic people at various stages throughout their lives. Researchers have just begun to investigate the topic, but Autistic people have discussed Autistic burnout online for many years. During this webinar, Jane will present her research which used data scraping to collect more than 1,000 public posts about Autistic burnout that were shared to Twitter and Wrong Planet between 2005-2019. She will outline how thematic analysis was used to look for common themes across the data.

About ARCAP

This webinar is organised by the Aspect Research Centre for Autism Practice (ARCAP). ARCAP conducts participatory research that is translated into respectful, proven practices to positively impact the lives of autistic people, their families and carers.

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