'. . . there's so much within the work that we do where all we kind of need is the space and the safety': The experiences of Australian practitioners who support autistic survivors of sexual and domestic violence.

IF 5.6 2区 心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL
Autism Pub Date : 2025-05-24 DOI:10.1177/13623613251344425
Jessica Fox, Julie-Anne Carroll, Jodi Death
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Research has found that autistic women experience elevated rates of sexual and domestic violence and may benefit from accessing support to recover. This study aimed to explore the experiences of Australian practitioners and the approaches they use to support the recovery needs of autistic women who are survivors of sexual and domestic violence. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 Australian practitioners to capture their experiences of supporting autistic women who are survivors of sexual and domestic violence. Data from these interviews were analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis, which generated four themes about participants' experiences in supporting autistic survivors: (1) unburdening the processing load of understanding violence and trauma, (2) understanding support and recovery needs as interconnected, (3) lived experience as a therapeutic tool, and (4) the challenges of practicing within unaffirming and invalidating systems. The findings illustrate how Australian practitioners help autistic survivors by accommodating their recovery support needs, and the systematic and structural issues that create barriers to recovery for autistic survivors while putting additional strain on the practitioners who support them. The findings also highlight practice implications around how supporting autistic survivors with interoceptive awareness and understanding their needs within relationships is beneficial to their recovery.Lay AbstractResearch has commonly found that autistic women are more likely than autistic men and non-autistic women to be harmed in their sexual and romantic relationships and may need support in healing from the impacts of these experiences. In this study, we wanted to find out more from the people who provide this support to autistic women. We asked 14 Australian practitioners about what they do to support autistic women who have experienced these types of harm in their relationships, and what makes this harder or easier for them to do. We then analysed the common patterns (themes) in what these practitioners said. From this we found that Australian practitioners often help autistic women to heal by providing a safe and supportive space to process their experiences and recover from what has happened to them. We also found that an important part of the support that practitioners provide autistic survivors is helping them to understand their experiences of violence and build awareness of feelings in their body (interoception). The practitioners in this study also talked about how the autistic women that they support often have bad experiences when getting help from support services and systems that commonly do not meet their needs. This often makes it harder for practitioners to help autistic women heal and a lot of them suggested that services could be made better by learning more about autistic people's different support needs and how to accommodate these.

“……在我们所做的工作中,我们所需要的只是空间和安全”:澳大利亚从业人员的经验,他们支持性暴力和家庭暴力的自闭症幸存者。
研究发现,患有自闭症的女性遭受性暴力和家庭暴力的几率较高,她们可能会受益于获得康复支持。本研究旨在探讨澳大利亚从业人员的经验,以及他们使用的方法来支持遭受性暴力和家庭暴力的自闭症妇女的康复需求。对14名澳大利亚从业人员进行了半结构化访谈,以了解他们在帮助遭受性暴力和家庭暴力的自闭症妇女方面的经验。从这些访谈中获得的数据使用反身性主题分析进行分析,该分析产生了关于参与者支持自闭症幸存者经验的四个主题:(1)减轻理解暴力和创伤的处理负担;(2)理解支持和康复需求是相互关联的;(3)作为治疗工具的生活经验;(4)在不肯定和无效的系统中实践的挑战。研究结果说明了澳大利亚的从业者如何通过满足自闭症幸存者的康复支持需求来帮助他们,以及系统和结构性问题,这些问题给自闭症幸存者的康复制造了障碍,同时给支持他们的从业者带来了额外的压力。研究结果还强调了如何支持自闭症幸存者的内感受意识和理解他们在人际关系中的需求对他们的康复有益。研究普遍发现,自闭女性比自闭男性和非自闭女性更容易在性和恋爱关系中受到伤害,并且可能需要从这些经历的影响中恢复过来的支持。在这项研究中,我们想从那些为自闭症女性提供支持的人那里了解更多。我们询问了14位澳大利亚的从业者,他们是如何帮助那些在人际关系中经历过这些伤害的自闭症女性的,以及是什么让她们更难或更容易做到这一点。然后,我们分析了这些从业者所说的共同模式(主题)。由此我们发现,澳大利亚的从业者经常通过提供一个安全和支持的空间来帮助自闭症妇女处理她们的经历,并从发生在她们身上的事情中恢复过来,从而帮助她们康复。我们还发现,从业者为自闭症幸存者提供支持的一个重要部分是帮助他们理解自己的暴力经历,并建立对自己身体感受的意识(内感受)。这项研究的从业者还谈到,他们所支持的自闭症女性在从支持服务和系统中获得帮助时,往往有不好的经历,这些服务和系统通常不能满足她们的需求。这往往使从业人员更难帮助自闭症妇女康复,他们中的许多人建议,通过更多地了解自闭症患者不同的支持需求以及如何适应这些需求,可以改善服务。
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来源期刊
Autism
Autism PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL-
CiteScore
9.80
自引率
11.50%
发文量
160
期刊介绍: Autism is a major, peer-reviewed, international journal, published 8 times a year, publishing research of direct and practical relevance to help improve the quality of life for individuals with autism or autism-related disorders. It is interdisciplinary in nature, focusing on research in many areas, including: intervention; diagnosis; training; education; translational issues related to neuroscience, medical and genetic issues of practical import; psychological processes; evaluation of particular therapies; quality of life; family needs; and epidemiological research. Autism provides a major international forum for peer-reviewed research of direct and practical relevance to improving the quality of life for individuals with autism or autism-related disorders. The journal''s success and popularity reflect the recent worldwide growth in the research and understanding of autistic spectrum disorders, and the consequent impact on the provision of treatment and care. Autism is interdisciplinary in nature, focusing on evaluative research in all areas, including: intervention, diagnosis, training, education, neuroscience, psychological processes, evaluation of particular therapies, quality of life issues, family issues and family services, medical and genetic issues, epidemiological research.
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