Halsall, J;
Clarke, C;
Crane, L;
(2021)
“Camouflaging” by adolescent autistic girls who attend both mainstream and specialist resource classes: Perspectives of girls, their mothers and their educators.
Autism
, 25
(7)
pp. 2074-2086.
10.1177/13623613211012819.
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Abstract
Autistic girls’ heightened social motivation and associated social coping strategies, such as camouflaging, mean they may be less likely to receive appropriate support in mainstream schools. In this research, a multi-informant approach was used to examine the camouflaging strategies used by autistic girls within specialist resource classes attached to mainstream schools (whereby girls transition between resource classes and mainstream classes). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight adolescent girls, their parents (eight mothers) and their educators (six teaching assistants/aides and one senior staff member) about the girls’ camouflaging experiences. Using reflexive thematic analysis, four themes were identified: (1) inconsistencies and contradictions in camouflaging, (2) challenges of relationships and ‘finding a tribe’, (3) learning, inclusion and awareness and (4) consequences of camouflaging. These results highlight the challenges that the girls experienced when attempting to hide their autism and fit within both mainstream classes and specialist resource classes. These challenges had significant impacts on the girls’ relationships and learning, as well as consequences for their mental health. The findings highlight the need for increased awareness of how camouflaging presents across the autism spectrum and suggests that individualised, evidence-based support will be essential for enabling autistic girls to flourish in school.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | “Camouflaging” by adolescent autistic girls who attend both mainstream and specialist resource classes: Perspectives of girls, their mothers and their educators |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1177/13623613211012819 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1177%2F13623613211012819 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2021 by The National Autistic Society, SAGE Publications. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | autism, camouflaging, education, females, resource bases, special educational needs |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Psychology and Human Development |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10125580 |
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