"I Really Like the Way My Brain Operates": Learning About Autism Strength Through the Eyes of Autistic Adults

"I Really Like the Way My Brain Operates": Learning About Autism Strength Through the Eyes of Autistic Adults | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article "I Really Like the Way My Brain Operates": Learning About Autism Strength Through the Eyes of Autistic Adults Jessica Navedo, Amelia Espiritu-Santo, Moushumi Sharmin, Kevin Delucio, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4052278/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Strength-based (SB) approaches view individuals and communities as experts on their experiences, desires, and needs. How do autistics understand their strengths and how does this information influence the way we design technology? Using a semi-structured SB format, we conducted three focus groups and nine one-on-one interviews with autistics, inviting them into an open conversation about their self-image, understanding of strength, commonalities within the autistic community, and their suggestions for better technology design. Several dominant themes emerged. Importantly, results reinforced the heterogeneous nature of the autistic community and the need to grow capacity for neurodiversity so that we may design future research in ways that glean outcomes valuable to autistic stakeholders. This paper (1) Presents autistic voices in their natural language; (2) Develops SB terminology in HCI to align with the self-determination and autonomy of users; and (3) Builds SB language in HCI to connect and contrast data. Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism Strength Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Strength-Based (SB) approach Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4052278","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":281750328,"identity":"d0be5f0a-98b2-4d05-a168-3cb497754207","order_by":0,"name":"Jessica Navedo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Western Washington University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jessica","middleName":"","lastName":"Navedo","suffix":""},{"id":281750330,"identity":"9703f77a-455b-4b97-ae62-ce679672801a","order_by":1,"name":"Amelia Espiritu-Santo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Western Washington University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amelia","middleName":"","lastName":"Espiritu-Santo","suffix":""},{"id":281750333,"identity":"bce0d992-86b5-4425-9b26-4061560be903","order_by":2,"name":"Moushumi Sharmin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Western Washington University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Moushumi","middleName":"","lastName":"Sharmin","suffix":""},{"id":281750334,"identity":"9cbe448c-58e3-4d52-b94c-973cbc0f796e","order_by":3,"name":"Kevin Delucio","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Western Washington University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kevin","middleName":"","lastName":"Delucio","suffix":""},{"id":281750337,"identity":"d02d46ae-4913-4668-9657-88b6f81c8827","order_by":4,"name":"Shameem Ahmed","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAp0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCSDmYbCBcHhI0JJGupbDJGjhn92d+ODNn/OJG24kMD5420aMJXfObjac23YbpIUZyCDGmhu526R5G27nbruRwCbNS4wW+Ru523/z/DkH0sL+mygtBkBbmHnYDoBtYSZKi+GN3M2Sc9uS6/efedgsOeccEVrkbuRu/PDmj52xZHvywQ9vyojQggQYG0hTPwpGwSgYBaMANwAAZgo8EFX+FZAAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Western Washington University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shameem","middleName":"","lastName":"Ahmed","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-03-09 06:14:23","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4052278/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4052278/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":53276888,"identity":"29cf1d0b-243d-46bb-ab64-634f590ad949","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-03-22 18:16:04","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":431762,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AutismStrength03182024.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4052278/v1_covered_58b9cdb9-3370-42ec-b105-237f75e61f98.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\"I Really Like the Way My Brain Operates\": Learning About Autism Strength Through the Eyes of Autistic Adults","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Autism Spectrum Disorder, Autism Strength, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Strength-Based (SB) approach","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4052278/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4052278/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Strength-based (SB) approaches view individuals and communities as experts on their experiences, desires, and needs. 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