Abstract
This piece of work draws on both critical discourse and critical narrative inquiry to examine the long-term romantic relationship experiences of those in autistic/non-autistic long-term romantic relationships. Four couples participated, three heterosexual and one female same-sex couple. The participants were given the opportunity to tell their narratives in a variety of forms, through interviews, emails, stories and with photographs and mementoes as prompts. These forms inspired the way that the data was retold in the research using a variety of styles reflecting the narrative choices of the participants. Through interviews with participants individually and as a couple, over sixteen months, the participants and researcher were able to distinguish discourses that framed relationship expectations. The western romantic discourse and the evangelical Christian romantic discourse were identified. It was evident that when relationships did not match dominant discourses the partners suffered stress, reduced self-confidence and disappointment. The non-autistic partners experienced more negative effects than the autistic participants. As the stories were analysed the importance of the participants’ historical family narratives became apparent as these intertwined and clashed with the romantic discourses without the individual being aware, causing further anxiety. Four relational aspects where stress was experienced were returned to repeatedly by the participants, expressions of love, positionality, communication and socialising, and were considered in depth. After the couples had been together for a number of years, they began to consider autism for one partner and learn about the available autism discourses. This enabled them to reframe their relationships, resisting the subjugating aspects of dominant romantic discourses and creating new relationship understandings. The individuals drew on different autism discourses for different purposes, but those that predominantly drew on a neurodiverse or social discourse seemed to have more equal and mutually rewarding relationships than those who drew on a deficit discourse.
Keywords
autism, critical discourse, critical narrative inquiry, critical discourse/narrative inquiry, same-sex couples, romantic relationships, long-term romantic relationships, autism, autistic/non-autistic couples, discourse, western romantic discourse, evangelical Christian romantic discourse, historical family narrative, intersectionality, expressions of love, positionality, communication, socialising, autism discourses, Foucault, neurodiverse autism discourse, ADHD, participatory, disabilities
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Date
2025
Recommended Citation
Southall, V. (2025) Which discourses underpin long-term, autistic/non-autistic romantic couples’ understandings of their relationship as they live with and accommodate each other? A critical discourse/narrative inquiry. Thesis. University of Plymouth. Retrieved from https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/sc-theses/83
