How is a sense of well-being and belonging constructed in the accounts of autistic adults?

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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Milton, D. & Sims, T. (2016). How is a sense of well-being and belonging constructed in the accounts of autistic adults? Disability & Society, 31(4), 520-534. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2016.1186529

Publication date: 20 Apr 2016 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
2
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 2 (50.0%)
  1. Damian Milton *
  2. Tara Sims

Abstract

This small-scale exploratory study sought to develop an understanding of the meaning of well-being and social belonging as represented within the narratives of adults on the autism spectrum. Employing an interpretivist approach facilitated the investigation of potential contributory factors to these lived experiences in order to inform further research regarding both this topic, and service provision for adults on the autism spectrum. The project involved a thematic analysis of issues of the magazine Asperger United (AU). Four broad main themes were identified: meeting personal needs, living with the consequences of an ‘othered’ identity, connection and recognition, and relationships and advocacy. Autistic adults reported many barriers to feeling that they belonged in a number of social spaces and the detrimental effect this had on their wellbeing. Fundamental to positive narratives of wellbeing, were feelings of connection and recognition from others and positive accepting relationships, with autistic-led spaces, particularly the Autscape conference, being frequently cited as of central significance in increasing feelings of wellbeing and belonging. This study has demonstrated a need for less focus on remediation and more on limiting the social isolation of autistic people.

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 07:50.

Cited references
38
With a DOI
20
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
15
8 / 38 (21.1%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
6 / 38 (15.8%)
References with detected author names
36 / 38 (94.7%)
Without detected author names
2
Without a structured title
5
Without a stable identifier
13
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
1
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
50
From DOI or external metadata
50
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
13 / 50 (26.0%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 37 / 50 (74.0%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
8 / 50 (16.0%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 8 / 13 (61.5%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 5 / 44 (11.4%).
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