Hello,
I am a student and currently doing a research project entitled 'What are the causes of mental illness in autistic girls and women?'. I'm making a survey to send to students in my school to gather data.
I am autistic myself, but before I send out the survey I would really appreciate some other autistic people's input. Please could you read my draft of the questions attached to check I haven't used any improper/outdated language or too intrusive questions etc.
Thanks! If you have any comments/advice about what I should put in the survey please tell me
Survey:
Have you ever seen an autistic character in a film or TV show? (Where it was explicitly stated that they were autistic) Yes, no, I don’t know/I can’t remember
Have you ever read about an autistic character in a book? (Where it was explicitly stated that they were autistic) Yes, no, I don’t know/ I can’t remember
1/2a. If yes, in your opinion how were they portrayed/described in general?
1/2b. Was their autism shown as a ‘problem’, for example for their family/friends? Yes, no, I can’t remember, other comment
1/2c. Was the character male? Yes, no, I can’t remember
1/2ci. If no, what was their gender?
1/2d. Did the character have many friendships? They had lots of friends, they had a few friends, they didn’t have many/any friends
1/2e. How old was the character? Up to 5 years old, 5-10 years old, 10-15 years old, 15-20 years old, over 20 years old, I don’t know
1/2f. Did the character have any mental health problems that were shown, explicitly or implicitly? Yes, no, I don’t know/I can’t remember
1/2fi. If yes, can you give more detail?
1/2g. If the character’s interests were described, what were they?
1/2h. What did you learn about autism from the book/TV show/film?
1/2i. What is the name of the book/TV show/film?
Any other comments/details you can remember about the character?
Your knowledge about autism:
(yes, no, I don’t know)
Do you think autism can be cured?
Do you think autism is a neurological illness/disease?
Do you think autism is a mental illness?
Do you think you can be born autistic?
Do you think both adults and children can be autistic?
Do you think autistic adults are ‘less autistic’ than children
Do you think a person of any sex can be autistic?
Do you think a person of any gender can be autistic?
Do you think boys are more likely to be autistic than girls?
Do you think autistic people can have mental illnesses?
Do you think autistic people are more likely to have a mental illness than non-autistic people?
Do you think you can tell if someone is autistic without them telling you? (Yes, no, sometimes, I don’t know)
What do you think of when you think of autism?
Are you autistic? Yes with a formal diagnosis, Yes with a self-diagnosis, No
If yes, and you’re comfortable answering:
Have you ever been bullied? Do you think being autistic was a reason for this, why?
Have you ever struggled with your mental health? Do you think being autistic played a part in it, how?
Have you ever experienced judgement or discrimination because you’re autistic?
Have you ever seen autism portrayed inaccurately in media, like a TV show, film or book? Can you give more detail?
Have you seen autism portrayed accurately in media?
Do you think being autistic can make friendships/relationships more difficult? Tick all that apply.
Being autistic makes no difference
Being autistic can make relationships different to other people’s relationships but not necessarily more difficult
Being autistic has made making friends more difficult for me
I find friendships/relationships difficult but I think this is unrelated to being autistic
Being autistic can make friendships/relationships more valuable
Being autistic can make friendships/relationships less valuable
Being autistic makes friendships/relationships easier for me
I don’t know
Other
