In this blog post, we will tell you about our fifth meeting with our lay advisory board, which was held on Monday 16th February 2026.
This meeting has two main goals:
- To discuss findings from the qualitative analysis of interviews
- To exchange ideas about how to analyse the captioned images
Qualitative Interview Analysis
Earlier on in the project, we interviewed 40 autistic young people about using social media –preferred platforms, their benefits, and their challenges. We used a qualitative method called ‘Reflexive Thematic Analysis’ to analyse the data. This approach, developed by Virgina Braun and Victoria Clarke, is about identifying patterns of meaning (also known as “themes”) within a dataset. This involved ‘coding’ the data by tagging the topics which multiple interviewees talked about, such as “joining groups” or “fear of interacting with strangers.” Afterwards, we grouped the topics together thematically and came up with four broad themes which summed up the most important ideas within the interviews. For example, one of the themes was about social anxiety and difficulties interacting in online groups.
In the meeting, the research team shared some quotes from the interviews and the results of thematic analysis. The themes surrounding digital anxiety particularly resonated with the board. For example, board members shared their experiences with needing to watch what other social media users do first before interacting or not being sure whether you’re “qualified” to talk about something.
Following this, the research team and the board members discussed what the key messages should be. Similar to our last meeting, we agreed that it’s important to emphasise the role of masking and more subtle forms of discrimination. Having safe and inclusive spaces where autistic people can freely engage with interest should not be too much to ask for.
Captioned Images
In the second part, we talked about the ‘captioned images’ study. For this study, participants posted pictures relating to their interests on a private social media channel (which only the research team followed), alongside a caption which elaborated on any thoughts, feelings, or ideas. For example, participants shared examples of things they enjoyed, found frustrating, or struggled to share on their main social media.
The research team shared some examples of captioned images with the board – including screenshots of tweets left in the drafts, plants which had not been watered due to a stronger interest in video games, and photos of owls which brought “joy.” After looking at these images, the research team asked the board for their opinion on which aspects of these images were most interesting and worth paying more attention to.
Here, we discussed topics such as stigma, masking, and autistic joy. Georgie suggested we consider the role of multiple neurodivergence, for example if any participants were ‘AuDHD’ (meaning autistic and ADHD) and how this might impact experiences of hyperfocus. Joe also drew attention to the frequency of hedging and contrast in participants’ accounts (i.e., words like “just” “not” “but”) and what this might reveal about both stigma and differences in emotional processing.
