Navigating “Imaginary Conversations” with Neurotypicals: Insights from Instagram

Autistic adults often experience communication challenges with neurotypical partners, but they also articulate clear preferences for authentic, reciprocal interactions. Social media offers a unique opportunity to study these perspectives in real time, providing insight into how autistic adults themselves view and navigate communication. A purposive sample of 68 Instagram posts that included 970 utterances from captions, posts, and video transcriptions tagged with #autisticcommunication and #actuallyautistic was analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. We identified themes in autistic adults’ descriptions of communication experiences as well as communication processes and preferences. Themes related to autism communication experiences reflected trauma from neurotypical expectations, the reframing of communication differences as identity, and agency through confronting ableism, empowerment, and connection. Themes related to communication processes and preferences reflected the impact of cognition on communication, the value of all forms of communication, and unique features of autistic communication. Autistic adults described notable dissonance between their authentic communication styles and neurotypical social norms. Instagram gave autistic adults a public space to share their perspectives, teach others, and exchange strategies and support. This visibility shifts the focus from professionals to autistic people, redefining what “effective communication” means.