Autistic women’s experiences self-compassion and their diagnosis V2

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Autistic women’s experiences of self-compassion and receiving their diagnosis in adulthood

• IRAS ID

  275964

• Contact name

  Rosie Wilson

• Contact email

  rwilson4@sheffield.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Sheffield and Sheffield Health and Social Care

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 8 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Research highlights strong links between self-compassion and mental health, but there is very limited research specifically exploring autistic individual’s experiences of self-compassion. The process of receiving a diagnosis on the autism spectrum can be complex and autistic women tend to experience several barriers to diagnosis. This study adds to the growing area of research exploring autistic women’s experiences of receiving a diagnosis in adulthood. This is as part of a project for a doctorate qualification.
  Participants will be recruited from the Sheffield Adult Autism and Neurodevelopmental Service (SAANS), the Sheffield Autism Research Lab (ShARL), and the Sheffield Autistic Society (SAS). Women who have received their diagnosis on the autism spectrum over the age of 18 years old, will be eligible to take part in the research.
  The researcher will interview participants who have volunteered and consented to take part. Due to current COVID-19 restrictions the interviews will need to be completed remotely using Google Meet or via telephone. If social distancing restrictions are reduced during the data collection phase of the study, then participants will also have the option to attend face to face interviews with the main researcher at the University of Sheffield or at the SAANS team base. The interviews are expected to last between 30-60 minutes. The interview data will be typed up and analysed using a qualitative method called Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

• REC name

  North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  20/NE/0113

• Date of REC Opinion

  29 May 2020

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion