Examining the Support Experiences of Autistic Young People with Multiple Marginalized Identities in the United Kingdom

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. two authors of this publication are identified as autistic in the project.

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Davies, J., Islaam, L., Carter, S., Redmayne, B., Cooper, K., Mandy, W., & Crane, L. (2024). Examining the Support Experiences of Autistic Young People with Multiple Marginalized Identities in the United Kingdom. Autism in Adulthood, 8(3), 385-397. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2024.0059

Publication date: 28 Oct 2024 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
7
Publication authors identified as autistic
2 / 7 (28.6%)
  1. Jade Davies
  2. Labeebah Islaam *
  3. Susannah Carter *
  4. Ben Redmayne
  1. Kate Cooper
  2. Will Mandy
  3. Laura Crane

Abstract

Background: The challenges that autistic young people face when accessing support have been well documented. However, such issues may be exacerbated for autistic young people who have additional marginalized identities (e.g., being from a minority ethnic group or minority gender) compared with autistic young people who do not have additional marginalized identities. Methods: We took a participatory approach that included autistic young people with multiple marginalized identities at every stage of the research process. Our team interviewed 13 autistic young people (aged 16–25 years) who also identified with other marginalized identities. We analyzed the data using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: We generated one superordinate theme, which reflected how accessing support was perceived to be challenging for all autistic young people but especially so for this group with multiple marginalized identities. Within the superordinate theme, we generated three subthemes that provide examples of how common challenges were felt to be exacerbated for our participants. First, our participants reported difficulties in obtaining timely diagnoses, which hindered access to appropriate support services. Second, they expressed a sense of exclusion from existing support structures, with services often failing to address their unique needs. Finally, cultural and linguistic barriers meant that our participants’ parents and caregivers did not always know how to help them get support. As a result, some of our participants had to advocate for themselves. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the need for more inclusive and accessible support services that meet the diverse needs of all autistic young people, including those with multiple marginalized identities. Recommendations include offering a variety of support options to accommodate individual preferences and providing ways to empower all autistic people to advocate for their support needs.

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 02:38.

Cited references
59
With a DOI
52
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
6
17 / 59 (28.8%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
2 / 59 (3.4%)
References with detected author names
57 / 59 (96.6%)
Without detected author names
2
Without a structured title
2
Without a stable identifier
6
References with raw author names still to review
2
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
252
From DOI or external metadata
252
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
2
170 / 252 (67.5%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 82 / 252 (32.5%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
38 / 252 (15.1%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 38 / 170 (22.4%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 29 / 206 (14.1%).
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