Singapore, 10 November 2026 – A new nationwide survey by Singapore Management University (SMU) has found that although more than 9 in 10 Singaporeans have heard of autism, many lack a deeper understanding of the condition. While almost all respondents believe autistic people can succeed at work with appropriate support, employers' willingness to hire them barely exceeds neutral. The study also revealed a gap between support for equal marriage opportunities for autistic people, expressed by more than 90% of respondents, and personal acceptance: only four in 10 feel comfortable having an autistic spouse or romantic partner.
These findings emerged from Being.Me., a nationwide SMU survey of 3,153 respondents examining autism awareness, stigma, inclusion and support in Singapore. Led by Rosie Ching, Principal Lecturer of Statistics at SMU, with the support of Saint Andrew’s Autism Centre (SAAC), the study captured perspectives across four groups: autistic people, their family members, associates, and respondents without these personal connections.
“Most of us have heard of autism, but how well do we understand autistic people and their lived experiences?” said Ms Rosie Ching. “Our findings suggest that acceptance becomes more complicated as autism comes closer to our personal lives. We may support equal opportunities for autistic people in principle, but feel differently when asked to imagine an autistic person as our neighbour, colleague or life partner. This gap between what we believe others should be entitled to and what we are personally comfortable with deserves closer examination.”
Mayor Denise Phua, President of Autism Resource Centre, said, “I am heartened by the growing awareness of and support for persons on the autism spectrum in Singapore. Our next challenge is to turn goodwill into even more action: dispel misconceptions; equip schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods and public places for more tangible inclusion. Every autistic person has different strengths and support needs. Each of us can help build a society where these differences are understood, abilities are recognised and opportunities are real.”
Key findings of practical relevance:
1. Nearly everyone knows the word ‘autism’ but many remain unsure what it means.
- While 97.5% have heard of autism, 69.5% rate their own knowledge below 50%.
- 10.5% mistakenly believes people grow out of autism as they age, alongside another 17.7% who do not know.
- 19.0% mistakenly think that autistic people are all affected in the same way.
- Among those rating their knowledge below 50%, the leading explanation is “no family history” (35.2%), followed by “no outreach or education” (31.7%).
- Together, these findings suggest that knowing the term autism does not necessarily translate into understanding the spectrum or recognising the importance of understanding autistic people beyond one's immediate family.
- They point to a need for more structured public education and outreach to deepen understanding of autism, challenge misconceptions and equip people with practical ways to interact with and support autistic individuals in everyday settings and the wider community.
2. Strong belief in supported employment, but less confidence in equal competence
- 95.9% believe autistic people can succeed at work with appropriate support.
- 65.0% agree that an autistic worker is just as competent as a worker without autism.
- 75.9% reject excluding autistic people from leadership positions.
- The gap between positive attitudes and actual hiring intentions is evident among the 403 respondents involved in hiring decisions. On a scale of 0 to 10, where 5 represents a neutral position, their average willingness to hire an autistic person was 5.23 – only marginally above neutral, suggesting that employers remain hesitant about hiring autistic candidates.
- Respondents involved in hiring decisions did not have significantly different levels of personal stigma towards autism from those who were not involved in hiring.
“The welcome is warmer in principle than at the hiring desk,” said Ms Ching. “Almost everyone believes autistic people can succeed at work with the right support. Yet, when it comes to actually hiring them, employers' willingness barely rises above neutral. What would it take to turn this general goodwill into genuine employment opportunities?”
3. Educational opportunity receives strong support, alongside concerns about other students.
- Support for university opportunities for autistic people was high across all four respondent profiles, ranging from 92.2% to 96.7%.
- Support was less clear-cut when respondents were asked whether including autistic students in mainstream classrooms could adversely affect other students' learning. Among the general public, 60.1% disagreed with this statement, compared with 62.7% of family members and 63.4% of associates. Within each of these three profiles, support for mainstream inclusion was significantly higher than agreement that it could adversely affect other students' learning.
- Overall, the findings suggest that while respondents broadly support educational opportunities for autistic people, some reservations remain about mainstream classroom inclusion and its implications for other students.
- This highlights the importance of equipping schools and teachers with the resources and support needed to make inclusive education work for everyone.
4. Equal marriage opportunities command broad support. Personal romantic openness is another matter.
- 91.5% support equal marriage opportunities for autistic people, while 40.9% feel comfortable having an autistic spouse or romantic partner.
- Within the general-public profile, the contrast is 89.7% versus 36.5%. It also appears among family members (93.1% versus 47.6%) and associates (94.0% versus 44.0%).
- The findings reveal how acceptance changes as questions move closer to our own lives, from educational opportunities and employment to the neighbouring home, a close friendship and an intimate relationship, with gaps between support for inclusion and personal openness, particularly when equal marriage opportunities are compared with comfort having an autistic partner.
5. Emotional strain by caregivers highlighted as a top challenge
Caregivers’ top three ranked challenges:
- Emotional and mental stress: 66.3%
- Financial pressure: 42.1%
- Daily caregiving responsibilities: 40.9%
- 96.4% believe caregivers should receive greater support
- 90.1% support increased public funding to strengthen autism services.
- 38.1% feel Singapore is not doing enough to meet the growing needs of autistic people, while 47.1% are unsure. Respondents who rated the effectiveness of existing programmes and services also gave scores significantly below average.
- Together, these findings highlight the need for stronger support for autistic people and their caregivers, both in managing day-to-day challenges and planning for longer-term needs. The most frequently identified priorities for improvement were education (65.6%), early intervention (62.8%) and employment (49.9%).
How broad is our welcome, as a nation, for people with autism?
The findings of Being.Me. revealed considerable goodwill towards autistic people, but translating this into meaningful inclusion in everyday life remains a challenge. A separate NCSS study found that positive public attitudes towards autistic people fell between 2019 and 2023, highlighting the need for greater understanding, acceptance and opportunities for meaningful interaction between autistic people and the wider community.
Bernard Chew, CEO, Saint Andrew’s Autism Centre (SAAC), said: “We are grateful to Ms Rosie Ching and her students for undertaking this survey. The findings validate what we have suspected at SAAC for quite some time - that there is widespread awareness of autism in Singapore, but that awareness fails to translate to true inclusion because there is still insufficient understanding of the challenges of living with autism among Singaporeans in general.”
“Inclusion of persons with autism - whether that's in the workplace for those who are work-capable, or in community spaces for PwAs with higher support needs - requires every one of us to take time to understand the different ways of thinking and behaving that PwAs have,” continued Mr Chew. “We hope this survey brings to light the very real challenges that PwAs and their caregivers have, and invite Singaporeans to take time to really hear the stories of those affected by autism. SAAC will continue to press on with our public education efforts through our Centre for Advocacy and Public Education (CAPE). Through these efforts, we hope to help Singaporeans better understand autism, be more willing to accommodations, so that PwAs and their caregivers can be better included in our society.”
“Awareness is only the beginning. True inclusion means looking beyond the label, recognising the diverse abilities and needs of autistic people, and making space for them to participate fully in society. Whether it is in our schools, workplaces or communities, we each have a part to play in turning acceptance into meaningful inclusion,” said Ms Rosie Ching.