Autism in Australia: Community Knowledge and Autistic People’s Experiences

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Thom-Jones, S., Akram, M., Gordon, C. S., Murphy, N., & Sharkie, F. (2021). Autism in Australia: Community Knowledge and Autistic People’s Experiences. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51(10), 3677-3689. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04819-3

Publication date: 3 Jan 2021 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)
  1. Sandra Thom-Jones *
  2. Muhammad Akram
  3. Chloe S. Gordon
  4. Nicole Murphy
  5. Fiona Sharkie

Abstract

This paper presents two studies that explored community attitudes to autism in Australia; and autistic people and their families' perspectives of community attitudes. In Study One 2424 (primarily non-autistic) people completed a survey on autism-related knowledge and attitudes; identifying a number of misperceptions and knowledge gaps in the general community. In Study Two 1353 people (primarily parents and carers of autistic people) completed a survey on autism-related experiences; identifying that the community's awareness of autism does not appear to extend to understanding how to support autistic people. There is a need for more research which integrates the perspectives of both autistic people and the broader community; and the development of communication and education interventions, with rather than about autistic people.

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Bibliography inclusion overview

These indicators describe the cited bibliography imported for this publication. Cited-reference metrics use the cited-reference total as denominator. Cited-author metrics state whether they use all cited-author occurrences or only occurrences linked to authors already integrated in the AutiHub database. They use cached links between cited authors and authors integrated in the AutiHub database. Last computed: 16 Aug 2026 11:31.

Cited references
56
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
5 / 56 (8.9%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
5 / 135 (3.7%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 5 / 44 (11.4%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 4 / 125 (3.2%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
44 / 135 (32.6%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 35 / 125 (28.0%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
39 / 44 (88.6%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 39 / 135 (28.9%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 31 / 35 (88.6%).
2 cited bibliography entries could not be fully enriched from DOI metadata.
Crossref: not found (1) · DataCite: not found (1)
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