ArticleJournal of autism and developmental disorders2025
Deconstructing Information About Autism Diagnosis in Adults on TikTok: A Cross-Sectional, Descriptive Content Analysis.
Article in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Reducing Parental Accommodation in Neurodiverse Families: Adaptation of a Digital Single-Session Intervention.Child psychiatry and human development · 2026Article
- A cross-sectional study on the quality of IgA nephropathy videos on short video platforms.Scientific reports · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeSocial media has increasingly become a platform where individuals share and seek information about autism. However, recent research indicates that autism-related content on TikTok often contains misleading or inaccurate information. Additionally, the number of adults seeking first-time autism diagnoses has increased over the past several years, potentially due to increased public awareness and exposure to content on social media. In order to understand how autistic adults are engaging with TikTok, there is a need to examine content focused specifically on autism in adulthood. This study aimed to address this gap by analyzing TikTok content associated with the hashtags #actuallyautistic, #latediagnosedautistic, and #autism.
methodsA content analysis of 150 videos examined themes, attitudes, clinical accuracy, and user engagement metrics. Additional analyses were run to examine common traits that users reported in relation to autism.
resultsA significant portion of videos were either personal in nature or misleading. Content analysis showed that many topics centered around identity related to autism diagnosis, and many associated themes were negative. There were significant differences in content between hashtags, indicating potential biases within various channels of information.
conclusionThe broad reach of these videos indicates that TikTok is a potent platform for autism awareness, education, and identity exploration. This research underscores the role of social media in shaping public perception of autism and highlights the need for enhanced digital literacy to navigate and disseminate information. It also provides insight into discussions of autistic identity, which may help providers connect more effectively with this growing population.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41205090What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.