'Am I gonna regret this?': The experiences of diagnostic disclosure in autistic adults.
Sheena K Au-Yeung, Megan Freeth, Andrew R Thompson
PMID 40357870WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic adults diagnosed in adulthood described disclosure as a risky conversation.
They shared it to access support, be themselves, or challenge stigma, but disbelief and stigma could leave them doubting their diagnosis and avoiding services.
Key findings
01Disclosure served practical, personal, and advocacy purposes.
02Not being believed and mismatched expectations could trigger self-doubt, unmet needs, and later caution or nondisclosure.
03Participants linked positive disclosure experiences to open, curious, accepting responses, and these experiences could create connection and community.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Twelve participants were interviewed, so the themes describe a small group and cannot be treated as population-wide effects. All participants were diagnosed in adulthood within the last 10 years and lived in the United Kingdom, so experiences may differ for people diagnosed in childhood or in other countries. The sample was predominantly White British, and socio-economic status was not collected, so findings may not apply across ethnic or economic groups. The interview method may have excluded people who exclusively use alternative forms of communication. Participants differed in diagnosis type, diagnostic service, time since diagnosis, and co-occurring ADHD, which may have shaped their disclosure experiences.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and received no financial support for the research, authorship, or publication.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that disclosure causes positive or negative outcomes, or that disclosure support works. This was a small interview study, and it reports experiences, not effects.