Abstract

Approximately 5,437,988 (2.21%) adults in the United States have autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Dietz et al., 2020). Autistic young adults have low rates of employment, with only 53.4% working at some point since completing high school (Roux et al., 2013; Wei et al., 2018). In the workplace, autistic people report trying to fit into the job environment (Berman, 2022). The purpose of the present study is to ask, “What are the lived and emotional experiences of autistic adults in the workplace who ‘mask’ or ‘unmask’ their autistic traits?” By interviewing autistic adults, this study examines workplace self-disclosure and masking experiences of autistic people. The five constituents that arose from this phenomenological study were: (1) Frame of mind towards being autistic, (2) Relatedness with other autistic people, (3) Masking as an effortful socialization technique, (4) Navigating the workplace, and (5) Barriers to being authentic at work.

Author

Ida Piker

First Advisor

Brenna Hassinger-Das

Second Advisor

Jacqueline DeGroat

Document Type

ETD

Date of Award

7-25-2024

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