Non-binary experiences of autism: Social camouflaging and stakeholder views on inclusive environments in secondary schools

自闭症是一种神经发育状况，会影响个人与他人沟通和互动的方式。社交伪装描述了自闭症患者可能会发展成掩盖或补偿潜在困难的行为(例如，强迫眼神接触或对着剧本说话)。研究还没有探索社会伪装如何影响性别认同和非二元自闭症(NBA)个人的经历。非二元性别在自闭症人群中占很大比例(16.4%，而在典型的发展中人群中为2.2%；库珀，史密斯和罗素，2018年)。NBA个人遭受不成比例的心理健康困难和自杀(Warrier等人，2020年)，突显了这一领域研究的重要性。残疾的社会模型(Oliver，1990)提出，残疾环境会增加个人面临的困难。虽然包容性环境已经成为研究的焦点，但研究尚未探索利益相关者为NBA个人设计包容性环境的视角。拟议的研究将采取参与式方法，包含解释性和定性元素。以下研究问题将被解决：1)NBA个人的社会伪装经历是什么？它们与他们的性别有什么关系？2)社会伪装如何与这些个人的性别认同和自闭症认同的经历相互作用？3)NBA个人和教育工作者认为在中学为NBA个人创造包容和包容的环境的障碍和促进者是什么？4)这些利益相关者推荐了什么方法来使中学更具包容性和包容性，以适应NBA个人？方法遵循Strang等人的指导方针。(2019年)，将采取参与式方式。在回顾了在文献中探索社会伪装和非二元性别之后，研究问题将分两个阶段进行审查(时间表见附录)。第一阶段将回答问题1和2。参与者将是从LGBT和/或自闭症患者的社交媒体群中招募的20-30名NBA个人。最初，自我倡导者将被招募为合作者，他们将与研究人员讨论研究设计、可及性和后来的数据解释。访谈将为个人提供机会描述他们在自闭症、性别和社会伪装方面的经历。然后将对数据进行主题分析(Braun和Clarke，2006)，并要求参与者和合作者就解释提供反馈。因此，这一阶段将为自闭症、性别认同和社会伪装提供更清晰的图景。第二阶段将解决后一个研究问题。以下类别的20名英国利益相关者将被邀请参加第一阶段、社交媒体小组和与中学直接接触的人：(A)10名刚刚离开学校、年龄在18-19岁之间的NBA个人；(B)10名有经验的中学特殊需要或融入协调员。参与者将完成问卷，内容涉及社会包容的障碍和促进者；包容/排斥的经历；与非二元个人和自闭症患者合作的知识和态度；以及社会包容的前进方向。数据将按主题进行分析(Braun和Clarke，2006)，并由第一阶段的合作者进行审查。因此，这一阶段将开始代表NBA人群的需求和愿望，确定在中学提供包容和性别肯定的教育实践的方法。综上所述，拟议的研究旨在阐明社会伪装、性别认同和NBA个人自闭症认同之间的关系。然后，它将探索如何改善这一群体的社会包容性，这可能会影响精神健康和生活质量。

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that impacts how individuals communicate and interact with others. Social camouflaging describes behaviours autistic people may develop to mask or compensate for underlying difficulties (e.g. forcing eye contact or speaking to a script). Research has yet to explore how social camouflaging may impact gender identity and the experiences of non-binary autistic (NBA) individuals. Non-binary genders represent a large proportion of autistic populations (16.4% compared with 2.2% in typically-developing populations; Cooper, Smith and Russell, 2018). NBA individuals suffer disproportionately from mental health difficulties and suicide (Warrier et al., 2020), highlighting the importance of research in this area. The social model for disability (Oliver, 1990) proposes that disabling environments contribute to difficulties individuals face. Though there has been a focus on inclusive environments, research has yet to explore the perspectives of stakeholders engineering inclusive environments for NBA individuals.The proposed research will take a participatory approach with interpretive and qualitative elements. The following research questions will be addressed:1) What are the social camouflaging experiences of NBA individuals and how do they relate to their gender?2) How may social camouflaging interact with experiences of gender identity and autism identity amongst these individuals?3) What do NBA individuals and educators believe are the barriers and facilitators for creating inclusive and accommodating environments in secondary schools for NBA individuals?4) What do these stakeholders recommend as ways forward in making secondary schools more inclusive and accommodating for NBA individuals?MethodsFollowing guidelines by Strang et al. (2019), a participatory approach will be employed. Following a review exploring social camouflaging and non-binary genders in the literature, research questions will be examined across two phases (see Appendix for timeline). The first phase will address questions 1 and 2. Participants will be 20-30 NBA individuals recruited from social media groups for LGBT and/or autistic people. Initially, self-advocates will be recruited as collaborators, who will discuss research design, accessibility and later data interpretation with the researcher. Interviews will provide opportunities for individuals to describe their experiences of autism, gender and social camouflaging. Data will then be analysed thematically (Braun and Clarke, 2006) and participants and collaborators will be asked for feedback on interpretations. This phase will, therefore, provide a clearer picture on how autism, gender identity and social camouflaging intersect. The second phase will address the latter research questions. Twenty UK stakeholders in the following categories will be invited from those who participated in phase one, social media groups and direct contact with secondary schools: (a) 10 NBA individuals who are recent school-leavers - aged 18-19, (b) 10 experienced secondary school special needs or inclusion co-ordinators. Participants will complete questionnaires addressing barriers and facilitators to social inclusion; experiences of inclusion/exclusion; knowledge and attitudes of working with non-binary individuals and autistic people; and ways forward for social inclusion. Data will be analysed thematically (Braun and Clarke, 2006) and reviewed by collaborators from phase one. This phase will, therefore, begin to represent the needs and desires of NBA populations, identifying approaches to deliver inclusive and gender-affirming education practices in secondary schools.To summarise, the proposed research aims to elucidate the relationship between social camouflaging, gender identity and autism identity for NBA individuals. It will then explore how social inclusion for this population can be improved, which may influence mental well-being and quality of life.