{"id":155,"date":"2021-05-14T16:10:53","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T16:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dianapaulin.domains.trincoll.edu\/locating-black-autism\/?p=155"},"modified":"2021-07-30T20:09:02","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T20:09:02","slug":"miss-understood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dianapaulin.domains.trincoll.edu\/locating-black-autism\/emerging-media\/miss-understood\/","title":{"rendered":"Miss Understood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Mis and Under-diagnosing of Autistic Bodies and Their Correspondence with Blackness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Curator’s Statement<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Welcome! My name is Jessica and I am currently a senior at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. While I am an American Studies Major and a Legal Studies Minor, my studies have had a distinct emphasis on Disability Studies. I am enrolled in a course entitled \u201cAutistic Blackness,\u201d in which I have had the opportunity to explore the intersections of race and disability, and more specifically between Blackness and autism. Throughout the course I have been able to develop a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which these identities can converse with one another, which has led me to the creation of \u201cMiss Understood: The Mis and Underdiagnosing of Autistic Bodies and Their Correspondence with Blackness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has been historically and statistically proven that minority (especially Black) Autistic people are more often under-diagnosed and misdiagnosed than their white counterparts. I seek to further understand the ways in which Blackness and Autism intersect at one of the most poignant parts of both medical and social autistic discourse. However, I more specifically explore the ways in which social media can impact these practices. I do this by analyzing social media posts that confront these issues, while simultaneously amplifying Black Autistic voices and experiences. Additionally, I employ additional scholarly resources and external research to contextualize my topic, support my exploration, and solidify my argument. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My approach to this topic is one that actually began earlier in the year, as I examined one only specific social media post and analyzed the way in which it represented larger systemic issues of the underdiagnosing, and thus inaccurate profiling of Black Autistic people, that plagues the Black, Autistic, and Black Autistic communities. That work very much served as the foundation upon which this expansion is built, enabling me to have a more well-rounded understanding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This work is distinctly important, as it contributes to efforts to shed light on underrepresented issues that plague the lived experiences of others, but it is also important for me to note that I am not in fact Autistic. This matters as I am in no way attempting to provide commentary on other\u2019s experiences, but rather amplify the stories that have so candidly been shared, and contextualize them within the scholarly discourse that I have uncovered. Though I am discussing these concepts, I am doing so from a very privileged vantage point, as I will never truly understand how the answers to my research questions impact those who are Black, Autistic, mis, or underdiagnosed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Information & Statistics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Autism Spectrum Disorder is often defined by certain, very distinct, characteristics. These characteristics include difficulties with social interactions, trouble with communication, behavioral challenges, and, of course, whiteness. These have all become socially accepted qualities that are associated with ASD, but why? Why is it that we have come to recognize Autism as being predominantly applicable to one specific race, when it is clearly more widely prevalent? The underdiagnosing of Black Autistic people is one integral piece of this puzzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In 2007, a study by a team at the Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania, found that African-American children were 5.1 times more likely to be misdiagnosed with conduct disorders before being diagnosed with ASD.<\/p>Black Children Are Often Overlooked When It Comes To Autism<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Similarly….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

White children are about 19 percent more likely than Black children to be diagnosed with Autism.<\/p>Race, class contribute to disparities in Autism diagnoses<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The findings highlight persistent racial disparities in autism prevalence: Black children 5.1 times more<\/a> likely to be misdiagnosed with conduct disorders before being diagnosed with ASD, and are about 19 percent <\/a>more likely than white children to be underdiagnosed. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So, what does this mean? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It means that, simply put, Black children are less likely than their white peers to have an Autism diagnosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is no secret that the practices of misdiagnosing and underdiagnosing autistic people are more prevalent in those who are black, but it is also important to look past the statistics, and understand the lived experiences of those who are affected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Proactive Interventions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Though the practices of under and misdiagnosing Autistic Black people have been prevalent for many years, they way in which we understand them has shifted alongside the dawn of social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stories of those who have been plauged by the this institutionalized prejudice can be heard, and thus amplified, through social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tik<\/span>Tok<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
@jaxjaxattaxx is an autistic voice actor and content creator, who sheds light on the underdiagnosing of Black Autistic people, using their own experience.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
@jaxjaxattaxx<\/a>

#AutismAwareness<\/a> #AutismAwarenessMonth<\/a> #BlackAutistic<\/a> #Autism<\/a> #ActuallyAutistic<\/a> #BlackAutisticJoy<\/a> #FYP<\/a> #foryoupage<\/a> #Autistic<\/a> #autistictiktok<\/a> #enby<\/a><\/p> \u266c original sound – Jax-Prince (They\/Them)<\/a> <\/section> <\/blockquote>