Communication Apprehension Among Autistic Professionals

Abstract

Prior research has shown that stress and anxiety are commonly reported by autistic adults in social-communication situations in their personal and professional lives. Yet, little research exists to demonstrate the extent and nature of communication apprehension in the workplace among autistic professionals. This survey study of 324 autistic professionals showed that autistic professionals experience high communication apprehension, particularly in comparison to the general population. As communication situations become less predictable, autistic professionals tended to disproportionately experience higher communication apprehension.

Journal
Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
Published
2025-06-01
DOI
10.1177/23294906231191272
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (60) · 3 in this index

  1. 10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
  2. Annabi H. Locke J. (2019). A theoretical framework for investigating the context for creating employment succ…
  3. Annabi H. Sundaresan K. Zolyomi A. (2017). It’s not just about attention to details: Redefining the talents a…
  4. Hart Schaffner Marx: Neurodiversity at a class American suit maker
  5. Austin R. D. Fieldhouse M. Mohan A. Quinn P. (2017 December 7). Why the Australian defence organization is re…
Show all 60 →
  1. Neurodiversity as a competitive advantage
    Harvard Business Review
  2. Avery D. R. Thomas K. M. (2004). Blending content and contact: The roles of diversity curriculum and campus h…
  3. Baldwin S. Costley D. Warren A. (2014). Employment activities and experiences of adults with high-functioning…
  4. Bell M. P. Connerley M. L. Cocchiara F. K. (2009). The case for mandatory diversity education. Academy of Man…
  5. Besieux T. Edmondson A. C. de Vries F. (2021 June 11). How to overcome your fear of speaking up in meetings. …
  6. Black M. H. Mahdi S. Milbourn B. Thompson C. D’Angelo A. Ström E. Falkmer M. Falkmer T. Lerner M. Halladay A.…
  7. Burgess S. Cimera R. E. (2014). Employment outcomes of transition-aged adults with autism spectrum disorders:…
  8. Bury S. M. Flower R. L. Zulla R. Nicholas D. B. Hedley D. (2021). Workplace social challenges experienced by …
  9. Bury S. M. Hedley D. Uljarević M. Gal E. (2020). The autism advantage at work: A critical and systematic revi…
  10. Bury S. M. Jellett R. Spoor J. R. Hedley D. (2023). “It defines who I am” or “It’s something I have”: What la…
  11. Byrd M. Y. Sparkman T. E. (2022). Reconciling the business case and the social justice case for diversity: A …
  12. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  13. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  14. Chen J. L. Leader G. Sung C. Leahy M. (2015). Trends in employment for individuals with autism spectrum disor…
  15. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches
  16. Croucher S. M. Kelly S. Rahmani D. Jackson K. Galy-Badenas F. Lando A. Chibita M. Nyiranasbimana V. Turdubaev…
  17. Day N. E. Glick B. J. (2000). Teaching diversity: A study of organizational needs and diversity curriculum in…
  18. Donovan S. (2008 September). Entrepreneur Thorkil Sonne on what you can learn from employees with autism. Har…
  19. Dunn D. S. Andrews E. E. (2015). Person-first and identity-first language: Developing psychologists’ cultural…
  20. Ekman E. Hiltunen A. J. (2015). Modified CBT using visualization for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) anxiety a…
  21. Hagner D. Cooney B. F. (2005). “I do that for everybody”: Supervising employees with autism. Focus on Autism …
  22. Hayward S. M. McVilly K. R. Stokes M. A. (2019). Autism and employment: What works. Research in Autism Spectr…
  23. Hurlbutt K. Chalmers L. (2004). Employment and adults with Asperger syndrome. Focus on Autism and Other Devel…
  24. Jacob A. Scott M. Falkmer M. Falkmer T. (2015). The costs and benefits of employing an adult with autism spec…
  25. Johnson T. D. Joshi A. (2016). Dark clouds or silver linings? A stigma threat perspective on the implications…
  26. Kenny L. Hattersley C. Molins B. Buckely C. Povey C. Pellicano E. (2016). Which terms should be used to descr…
  27. Kiep M. Spek A. A. Hoeben L. (2015). Mindfulness-based therapy in adults with an autism spectrum disorder: Do…
  28. 10.1007/978-981-15-0874-5_11
  29. Lei J. Jones L. Brosnan M. (2021). Exploring an e-learning community’s response to the language and terminolo…
  30. Lindsay S. Osten V. Rezai M. Bui S. (2021). Disclosure and workplace accommodations for people with autism: A…
  31. Loiacono E. T. Ren H. (2018). Building a neurodiverse high-tech workforce. MIS Quarterly Executive 17(4) 263-…
  32. Lorenz R. Reznik N. Heinitz K. (2017). A different point of view: The neurodiversity approach to autism and w…
  33. Marcel M. (2022). Communication apprehension across the career span. International Journal of Business Commun…
  34. 10.4324/9781315663791
  35. McCroskey J. C. Beatty M. J. Kearney P. Plax T. G. (1985). The content validity of the PRCA-24 as a measure o…
  36. McGillivray J. A. Evert H. T. (2014). Group cognitive behavioural therapy program shows potential in reducing…
  37. Morris M. R. Begel A. Wiedermann B. (2015). Understanding the challenges faced by neurodiverse software engin…
  38. Müller E. Schuler A. Yates G. B. (2008). Social challenges and supports from the perspective of individuals w…
  39. Murphy M. Weber K. (2019). Confirmation of the ability of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension-2…
  40. Nagib W. Wilton R. (2020). Gender matters in career exploration and job-seeking among adults with autism spec…
  41. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  42. Pallathra A. A. Cordero L. Wong K. Brodkin E. S. (2019). Psychosocial interventions targeting social function…
  43. Parr A. D. Hunter S. T. Ligon G. S. (2013). Questioning universal applicability of transformational leadershi…
  44. Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The dandelion program
  45. SAP SE: Autism at work
  46. Richards J. (2012). Examining the exclusion of employees with Asperger syndrome from the workplace. Personnel…
  47. Inclusive interpersonal communication education for technology professionals
  48. Rosqvist H. B. (2019). Doing things together: Exploring meanings of different forms of sociality among autist…
  49. Schall C. M. Wehman P. Brooke V. Graham C. McDonough J. Brooke A. Ham W. Rounds R. Lau S. Allen J. (2015). Em…
  50. Sizoo B. B. Kuiper E. (2017). Cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness based stress reduction may be equ…
  51. Soeker M. S. (2020). A descriptive qualitative study of the challenges that individuals with autism spectrum …
  52. Solomon C. (2020). Autism and employment: Implications for employers and adults with ASD. Journal of Autism a…
  53. Spain D. Blainey S. H. Vaillancourt K. (2017). Group cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for social interaction…
  54. Spek A. A. van Ham N. C. Nyklicek I. (2013). Mindfulness-based therapy in adults with an autism spectrum diso…
  55. 10.1162/itgg.2008.3.1.11