"I Feel Like They are all Interconnected": Understanding the Identity Management Narratives of Autistic LGBTQ College Students

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Miller, R. A., Nachman, B. R., & Wynn, R. D. (2020). "I Feel Like They are all Interconnected": Understanding the Identity Management Narratives of Autistic LGBTQ College Students. College Student Affairs Journal, 38(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1353/csj.2020.0000

Publication date: 1 Jan 2020 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
3
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 3 (33.3%)
  1. Ryan A. Miller
  2. Brett Ranon Nachman *
  3. Richmond D. Wynn

Abstract

Research on both autistic and LGBTQ college students has uncovered themes of marginalization, selective disclosure, and efforts to build community and resist oppression. However, little work has focused on autistic LGBTQ college students and how they understand and manage their multiple identities. To address this gap, we used narrative inquiry to understand how eight college students who identified as both autistic and LGBTQ navigated higher education. We used the reconceptualized model of multiple dimensions of identity as a framework to understand how students made sense of their identities. Our findings indicated these students prioritized salient identities based on context, managed the visibility of identities, and expressed challenges in participating in LGBTQ and/or autistic communities.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 01:40.

Cited references
31
With a DOI
28
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
0
3 / 31 (9.7%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
0 / 31 (0.0%)
References with detected author names
31 / 31 (100.0%)
Without detected author names
0
Without a structured title
0
Without a stable identifier
0
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
80
From DOI or external metadata
80
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
25 / 80 (31.2%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 55 / 80 (68.8%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
3 / 80 (3.8%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 3 / 25 (12.0%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 3 / 74 (4.1%).
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