Explicit Associations With Autism and Disability

The entire month of April has been devoted to autism awareness for over 30 years; thus, it should be safe to assume the majority of the general public is aware of the autism spectrum. However, as autistic self-advocates have pointed out, awareness is not the same as acceptance. Despite widespread awareness, we have not reached an inclusive society for autistic individuals or for disabled individuals, in general. A current direction of my research investigates peoples’ attitudes toward the autism spectrum and disability. In this talk, I will present data examining explicit or conscious attitudes. Possible negative explicit associations with the autism spectrum and disability are concerning as they reflect ableist attitudes at a conscious and controllable level.https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/baden/1003/thumbnail.jp