“Stigma,” Survival, and Intergenerational Cultural Influences: Latina Autistic Contributions Through Community-Engaged Research

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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Angell, A., Floríndez, D. C., Franklin, M. D., Taylor, E., Lopez, J., Cogger, J. M., Guzman, M., & Rodriguez, A. R. (2025). “Stigma,” Survival, and Intergenerational Cultural Influences: Latina Autistic Contributions Through Community-Engaged Research. OTJR: Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 46(2), 213-221. https://doi.org/10.1177/15394492251395704

Publication date: 11 Dec 2025 Added to AutiHub: 30 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
8
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 8 (12.5%)
  1. Amber Angell
  2. Daníella C. Floríndez
  3. Marshae D. Franklin
  4. Elinor Taylor *
  1. Jennifer Lopez
  2. Jessica M. Cogger
  3. Melanie Guzman
  4. Alexis R. Rodriguez

Abstract

Amid calls for inclusion of autistic people in research, we present findings from our community-engaged study on the experiences of families of autistic girls, who experience disparities in autism identification, and show how the Autistic Lived Experience Collaborators (ALEC) in the Disparity Reduction and Equity in Autism Services (DREAmS) Lab influenced our findings. In Part 1 of our multimethod study, 21 caregivers completed interviews and survey questions. In Part 2, 10 Hispanic/Latino caregivers from Part 1 completed 1 to 3 interviews. Analysis used descriptive statistics and a narrative thematic approach. We also drew from analysis meeting notes. Girls from Spanish-speaking families had later ages of autism identification, which informed our qualitative themes: Survival Explains Stigma, a view of Hispanic/Latino culture that clarified the “stigma” that impacted the diagnostic process; and Intergenerational Influences on staying safe, which could include masking autistic traits. ALEC quotes show their contributions. Our community-engaged approach contributed to our findings and a more complex view of culture.

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 01:01.

Cited references
31
With a DOI
27
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
4
4 / 31 (12.9%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
1 / 31 (3.2%)
References with detected author names
30 / 31 (96.8%)
Without detected author names
1
Without a structured title
1
Without a stable identifier
4
References with raw author names still to review
1
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
139
From DOI or external metadata
139
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
1
53 / 139 (38.1%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 86 / 139 (61.9%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
18 / 139 (12.9%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 18 / 53 (34.0%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 17 / 129 (13.2%).
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