I am a doctoral researcher in sociology in the doctoral programme of the department of Social Sciences and Philosophy. I am interested in questions related to well-being, agency, and self-understanding.
In my doctoral research, I examine autistic individuals’ experiences and negotiations of in-tension understandings of autism. Understandings of autism are in flux: it can be viewed, on the one hand, as a disorder from a medical perspective, and on the other, as a neutral trait from a neurodiversity perspective. These different ways of making sense of autism have varying consequences for autistic individuals and how they are perceived and treated. I explore these tensions in relation to broader societal dimensions such as hierarchies of knowledge and norms.
My research is based on qualitative data combining interviews and survey responses. Across the three articles of my dissertation, I approach these tensions by examining experiences related to healthcare encounters, the formation of self-understanding, and various counter-narratives. Theoretically, my work is united by an interest in the shaping of epistemic agency—its possibilities, obstacles, and societal bounds.
My research expands understanding of the experiences of autistic individuals, whose perspectives have largely remained at the margins of Finnish research. It also provides insights into the challenges of meaning-making tensions and offers suggestions for addressing them. At the same time, my work contributes to the growing international conversation and challenges entrenched assumptions about autistic people.
