This paper looks at the concepts of representation, virtual community, self-presentation and self-representation to argue that virtual communities on Wrong Planet and Aspie Central use website affordances to challenge professional representations of ASD and AS. It focuses on virtual autistic communities by focusing on the discussion forums on the websites Aspie Central and Wrong Planet. Overall, it finds that virtual communities can challenge professional representation where people with ASD and AS can freely speak out. This is evident in the websites which allow anyone to view discussions and use them (if they sign up). Read more [...]