TITLE: “Camouflaging behaviours used by autistic adults during everyday social interactions.”

In this webinar, Dr Prithvi Perepa (Lecturer in Autism, University of Birmingham) highlights different norms across cultures and how this might impact on diagnoses of autism.

For example, factors such as direct eye contact, use of gestures, and so on, may be considered inappropriate in some cultures; yet the lack of these are often interpreted as early signs of autism.

Meanwhile, most of the research on autism uses subjects that are, largely, from White backgrounds. As a result, we are “missing” research on the experiences of autistic people and their families from other cultural groups.

Prithvi concludes that professionals need to be aware of their own prejudices, and to reconsider good practice for autistic people, taking account of broader, more culturally diverse samples, and focusing on individual experiences.

The webinar took place online on 11.00-12.00, 4th February 2021.