« J’essayais tellement fort d’être normale… J’ai fini par m’épuiser. »

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Courcy, I., Bélanger, M., Rivières‐Pigeon, C. d., Guerrero, L., & Soulières, I. (2026). « J’essayais tellement fort d’être normale… J’ai fini par m’épuiser. ». Santé mentale au Québec, 51(2), 305-331. https://doi.org/10.7202/1126816ar

Publication date: 1 Jan 2026 Added to AutiHub: 30 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: French
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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)
  1. Isabelle Courcy
  2. Maxime Bélanger
  3. Catherine des Rivières‐Pigeon
  4. Lucila Guerrero *
  5. Isabelle Soulières

Abstract

Introduction Les personnes autistes sont particulièrement à risque de vivre des formes de violence, de mise à l’écart ou de discrimination menant à de l’exclusion sociale au courant de la vie. Toutefois, très peu de recherches ont abordé l’exclusion sociale à partir de ses dimensions subjectives (p. ex. attitudes, opinions, représentations sociales et perception de soi) et des contextes relationnels dans lesquels ces expériences prennent forme et affectent le bien-être et la santé mentale. Cet article présente les résultats d’une recherche qualitative menée auprès de jeunes adultes autistes du Québec ayant pris part à des groupes de discussion en ligne asynchrones. Il vise à relever les formes d’exclusion sociale partagées par les personnes participantes afin de mieux comprendre les contextes relationnels dans lesquels prennent place ces expériences. Méthode Quatre groupes de discussion asynchrones en ligne ont été réalisés avec 23 adultes autistes âgés de 19 à 31 ans (moyenne: 24). Tous avaient reçu un diagnostic d’autisme de la part d’un professionnel. Pendant près de 3 semaines, des questions ouvertes ont été posées sur un sujet spécifique. Une analyse qualitative avec codage ouvert a été réalisée. Résultats Les résultats montrent 4 principales sources d’exclusion sociale mentionnées par les personnes participantes: les microagressions, la discrimination, la victimisation et les contraintes à l’autodétermination. L’exclusion sociale se réalise dans des contextes relationnels variés dans lesquels l’entourage et les services formels sont parfois considérés comme des soutiens, parfois des sources de fragilisation. Des stratégies de dissimulation, d’autoexclusion et de camouflage apparaissent comme des moyens de prévenir l’exclusion sociale, au détriment de son bien-être. Discussion Cinq pistes d’amélioration pour les pratiques cliniques et d’accueil dans les services généraux sont dégagées:

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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
50
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
5 / 50 (10.0%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
11 / 166 (6.6%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 11 / 57 (19.3%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 11 / 164 (6.7%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
57 / 166 (34.3%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 56 / 164 (34.1%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
46 / 57 (80.7%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 46 / 166 (27.7%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 45 / 56 (80.4%).
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