Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
LITALICO Laboratory, LITALICO Inc., Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
PLoS One. 2023 Aug 2;18(8):e0288586. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288586. eCollection 2023.
Stigma of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a crucial factor leading to a lower quality of life for individuals with ASD. This research evaluated an intervention effect for the stigma through an experience of simulated autistic visual perception and video-based social contact. The intervention was conducted as an experiential workshop for the ASD simulator. Participants (N = 217; 156 women, 61 men; a mean age of 41.3) voluntarily attended the workshop. In the workshop, they received a short lecture on autistic perception, a simulated experience using the ASD simulator, a narrative video of individuals with ASD, and a group discussion. They completed the multidimensional attitudes scale, which was developed to measure four attitudes toward ASD: negative affect, calm, cognitions, and behaviors. The attitudes were measured three times: the period of registration with the workshop, during participation in the workshop, and six weeks after the workshop. With regard to the measure during participation in the workshop, attendees responded to the attitudes at the beginning or end of the workshop, to confirm whether attitudes changes were attributed to the effectiveness of the intervention or artifacts resulting from participation in the workshop. A significant reduction was observed in negative affective attitudes at the end of the workshop and persisted even six weeks afterward, even though not observed in calm, cognitive, and behavioral attitudes. Our findings suggest that implementation of our intervention can bring about reduction of the stigma associated with ASD. Further studies with a random sampling method are needed to validate its generalizability and elaborate the components of the intervention.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的污名是导致 ASD 患者生活质量下降的一个关键因素。本研究通过模拟自闭症视觉感知和基于视频的社交接触体验来评估这种污名的干预效果。该干预措施是作为自闭症模拟体验的一个体验式工作坊进行的。参与者（N=217；156 名女性，61 名男性；平均年龄 41.3 岁）自愿参加了该工作坊。在工作坊中，他们接受了关于自闭症感知的简短讲座、使用自闭症模拟器的模拟体验、自闭症个体的叙事视频以及小组讨论。他们完成了多维态度量表，该量表旨在测量对 ASD 的四种态度：负面情绪、冷静、认知和行为。这些态度在三个时间点进行测量：参加工作坊时的登记期、参加工作坊期间以及工作坊结束后六周。关于参加工作坊期间的测量，与会者在工作坊开始或结束时对态度进行了回应，以确认态度的变化是归因于干预的有效性还是工作坊参与产生的假象。在工作坊结束时，负面情感态度明显减少，甚至在六周后仍持续存在，尽管在冷静、认知和行为态度方面没有观察到。我们的发现表明，实施我们的干预措施可以减少与 ASD 相关的污名。需要采用随机抽样方法进行进一步研究，以验证其普遍性，并详细说明干预措施的组成部分。
