Description
The growing prevalence of autism has transformed Asperger's syndrome (AS) into the trendy diagnosis of the day. Unfortunately, depictions of AS in news and popular media often prove stigmatizing. Because AS is not a visible condition, those with AS may choose to remain silent about their experiences to avoid the potentially identity-spoiling impact of "coming out." Yet, "passing" is extremely stressful, repressive, and often unsuccessful. Alternatively, the neurodiversity movement has generated a push for acceptance. Online communities provide a place where those with AS can engage with, alter, and add to the popular narratives surrounding autism, creating their own Aspie identity. Using a netnographic approach, this research pieced together three communicative processes by which online Aspie community members manage a stigmatized identity: reframing, reclaiming, and (re)negotiating. This research applies problematic integration theory (PI) to understand how Aspie identity management occurs in the midst of uncertainty, influenced by communication from significant others. It outlines the ACEPI model of agented communication and the enactment of a problematic identity, which traces how uncertainty, personal agency, and exposure to communicative framings of AS impact identity enactment. In addition, this research suggests that AS is as much a culture as it is a diagnosis, and questions the binary division between normal and abnormal perpetuated by the media. Ultimately, it asks individuals to consider how narratives suppress or empower those with AS. It suggests that online communities provide a place where Aspies can build coalitions among themselves and with other stigmatized groups, collectively counteracting spoiling discourses.
