#autism: Twitter as a lens to explore differences in autism awareness in India and the United States

Abstract

We present an initial qualitative exploration of Twitter data on autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) from India and the United States, conducted with the goal of learning more about the nature of existing online awareness around ASDs in India. We collected tweets from both locations during and around World Autism Awareness Day and World AIDS Day. We then qualitatively analyzed these tweets, finding differences in how each country talks about stigmatized health issues and how Indian users talk about ASDs. We use these findings to discuss potential avenues for research on supporting and extending existing levels of autism awareness in India.