Implicações psicológicas do capacitismo contra pessoas autistas: neurodiversidade e teoria cognitivo-comportamental

Abstract

Ableism is the prejudice perpetrated against someone or some group on the basis of different identity characteristics, as in the case of autistic people, who are recognised as people with disabilities. The constant experience of prejudice and discrimination can cause psychological suffering in victims, influencing their perception of themselves and the world. The general aim of this study is to identify the possible psychological implications of ableism against autistic people. The specific objectives are to characterise ableism, define neurodiversity, conceptualise autism based on the neurodiversity perspective and analyse the psychological implications of ableism from the perspective of neurodiversity and cognitive-behavioural theory. In order to achieve the objectives, scenes from the Netflix series Atypical were used as sources, the research instrument was constructed in the form of a table of scenes and these were analysed in a qualitative-descriptive way, using content analysis. The following categories were chosen for discussion, based on the cut of scenes: expressions of ableism and examples of the psychological implications of recurrent exposure to this prejudice. The final considerations reveal that ableism can appear in various forms, as presented in this paper, and involves various aspects of the individual, such as the construction of perceptions about oneself, the world and the future, as well as having basic emotional needs neglected or poorly met. This maladaptive process results in dysfunctional coping methods, causing mental suffering and reducing quality of life. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]