The increasing visibility of autistic women in digital media and social networks has contributed to greater public awareness of autism. However, representations of autistic women often remain shaped by stereotypes and simplified narratives that may differ from the ways autistic women describe their own experiences online. This paper explores how autistic women are represented across digital media and social media platforms. Using qualitative thematic analysis, it examines a selection of online news articles, blogs, and social media posts produced both by media outlets and by autistic women themselves. The study focuses on recurring themes related to identity, communication, diagnosis, masking, and social perception. By comparing external representations with first-person narratives, the paper investigates how autistic women negotiate visibility and challenge dominant assumptions about autism. The findings contribute to discussions on gender, neurodiversity, and digital communication, highlighting the role of online spaces in shaping contemporary understandings of autistic women's experiences.

Inês Morais holds a PhD in Communication Studies from NOVA University Lisbon (2020). Her doctoral research focused on the communication of memory and trauma. She subsequently worked as a researcher on the project African European Narratives and has collaborated with the University of Lisbon and the University of Huambo, Angola on projects related to memory, representation, and cultural narratives. Her research interests include communication, memory, trauma, representation, neurodiversity, and autistic women’s experiences. She is currently developing research on communication, identity, and the representation of autistic women across different cultural contexts, with the aim of pursuing postdoctoral research in this field.