Abstract
Increased public understanding of autism may lead to better access to services and participation in the community for individuals with autism. The goal of this study was to explore autism understanding and stigma among university students, and general community members recruited at a state fair. Participants between 18 and 79 years of age (n = 478) completed the Autism Stigma and Knowledge Questionnaire (ASK-Q; Harrison et al., Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 47(10):3281–3295, 2017). All ASK-Q means fell within the adequate knowledge range, indicating relatively high levels of autism knowledge and low levels of stigma. ASK-Q scores were correlated with gender, education, and self-ratings of understanding but not age. The results of this study suggest the need for continued inquiry into metrics that indicate autism understanding and stigma.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1298-1302 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 15 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgments This research was supported in part by a State Professional Development Grant from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), H323A150010, sub-awarded to the first author via the Minnesota Department of Education and start-up funds from the University of Minnesota. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of OSEP or the University of Minnesota. None of the authors have conflicts of interest to report. The authors thank all of the community members and students who participated in this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Keywords
- Autism knowledge
- Awareness
- Community
- Stigma