Benefits and drawbacks of an autism diagnosis
Open Access
- Author:
- Chiat, Sydney
- Area of Honors:
- Special Education
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Amy C Crosson, Thesis Supervisor
Paul J Riccomini, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Special Education
Autism
Elementary Education - Abstract:
- The goal of this thesis is to investigate the benefits and drawbacks of receiving an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Through an instrumental single case study of an eight-year-old male, structured interviews were conducted with his parents, his older sister, his current special education teacher, and a past tutor. Structured interviews were conducted both through a) providing interview protocol questions by email to which participants provided written responses; and b) Zoom video conferencing using an interview protocol. The Zoom interviews were recorded and later transcribed. In addition, notes from a series of tutoring sessions with the child (in the form of researcher memos) were also included as a data source. Participants were asked to describe personal experiences with ASD and respond to specific questions on the impacts of a diagnosis itself. The written (email) and transcribed responses were then coded using a scheme based on major themes that emerged from analyzing the data and that were grounded in previous research. After analyzing the data, I found that there were both benefits and drawbacks to receiving an ASD diagnosis. Benefits included better instruction and services for the child. Drawbacks included a sense of being stigmatized as well as a sense of burden on family members. Further research is needed to understand how to minimize or mitigate the drawbacks of an ASD diagnosis.