Strengths, Vulnerabilities, and Collective Identity: Cross-National Experiences and Identities of Autistic Teaching Staff

Abstract

This PhD research explores the experiences and autistic identity of autistic teaching staff within mainstream educational settings across English-speaking countries. The study focuses on the lived experiences of nine autistic teaching staff, highlighting how their professional identities are shaped by their autistic characteristics and how their experiences, in turn, influence their autistic identity. Challenging deficit-based approaches, the study presents participants’ narratives that frame autism as a natural variation of human diversity, grounded in the social model of disability and the neurodiversity paradigm.
The findings of this study reveal that the professional identities of autistic teaching staff are shaped by a duality of strengths associated with their autism and positive experiences, alongside vulnerabilities stemming from negative experiences. The professional autistic identity as a strength refers to participants’ teaching practices, including empathy towards neurodivergent students, hyperfocus, innovative pedagogical strategies, and advocacy for inclusivity. However, negative experiences stemming from insufficient workplace accommodations, sensory overload, and social exclusion exacerbate their professional challenges. These challenges are sometimes mitigated by positive experiences, such as supportive interactions with colleagues, students, and parents, as well as adjustments made by school management to accommodate their needs. Additionally, support from transnational, virtual, and face-to-face autistic and neurodivergent networks fosters a collective identity that act as a mechanism of resilience and advocacy, empowering autistic teaching staff.
The strengths associated with autistic identity positively shape autistic teaching staff’s professional practices and are reinforced through connections with other autistic and neurodivergent individuals. These networks, which foster resilience and empowerment within ableist institutional contexts, highlight the collective dimension of autistic identity. As such, this study contributes to both disability and education research by demonstrating how collective neurodivergent identity operates as a mechanism for resilience, empowerment, and the development of more inclusive educational practices. Beyond these contributions, the study makes theoretical, methodological, and practical contributions by linking critical realism with the neurodiversity paradigm, employing a participatory qualitative design, and offering implications for inclusive educational policy and practice.

Date of Award	10 Dec 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Sponsors	MEB, Ministry of National Education of Türkiye
Supervisor	Pedro Pineda Rodriguez (Supervisor), Elisabeth Barratt Hacking (Supervisor) & Simon Hayhoe (Supervisor)