Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T09:18:40.397Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The double empathy problem, camouflage, and the value of expertise from experience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2019

Peter Mitchell
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom. [email protected]@[email protected]://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/people/peter.mitchellhttps://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/people/sarah.cassidyhttps://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/people/elizabeth.sheppard
Sarah Cassidy
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom. [email protected]@[email protected]://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/people/peter.mitchellhttps://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/people/sarah.cassidyhttps://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/people/elizabeth.sheppard
Elizabeth Sheppard
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom. [email protected]@[email protected]://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/people/peter.mitchellhttps://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/people/sarah.cassidyhttps://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/people/elizabeth.sheppard

Abstract

To understand why autistic people are misperceived in the way Jaswal & Akhtar suggest, we should embrace concepts like the “double empathy problem” and camouflaging and recognize the negative consequences these have for mental health in autism. Moreover, we need to value expertise from experience so that autistic people have a voice and indeed a stake in research into autism.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cage, E., Di Monaco, J. & Newell, V. (2018) Experiences of autism acceptance and mental health in autistic adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 48(2):473–84.Google Scholar
Cassidy, S., Bradley, L., Shaw, R. & Baron-Cohen, S. (2018) Risk markers for suicidality in autistic adults. Molecular Autism 9(1):42.Google Scholar
Crane, L., Adams, F., Harper, G., Welch, J. & Pellicano, E. (2019) “Something needs to change”: Mental health experiences of young autistic adults in England. Autism 23(2):477493.Google Scholar
Heasman, B. & Gillespie, A. (2018a) Neurodivergent intersubjectivity: Distinctive features of how autistic people create shared understanding. Autism. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361318785172.Google Scholar
Hedley, D., Uljarevic, M., Wilmot, M., Richdale, A. & Dissanayake, C. (2018) Understanding depression and thoughts of self-harm in autism: a potential mechanism involving loneliness. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 46:17.Google Scholar
Hull, L., Petrides, K. V., Allison, C., Smith, P., Baron-Cohen, S., Lai, M. C. & Mandy, W. (2017) “Putting on my best normal”: Social camouflaging in adults with autism spectrum conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 47(8):2519–34.Google Scholar
Lai, M. C., Lombardo, M. V., Ruigrok, A. N., Chakrabarti, B., Auyeung, B., Szatmari, P., Happé, F., Baron-Cohen, S. & MRC AIMS Consortium. (2017) Quantifying and exploring camouflaging in men and women with autism. Autism 21(6):690702.Google Scholar
Livingston, L. A., Colvert, E., Social Relationships Study Team, Bolton, P. & Happé, F. (2019) Good social skills despite poor theory of mind: exploring compensation in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 60(1):102–10. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12886.Google Scholar
McConachie, H., Mason, D., Parr, J. R., Garland, D., Wilson, C. & Rodgers, J. (2018) Enhancing the validity of a quality of life measure for autistic people. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 48(5):15961611.Google Scholar
Milton, D. (2012) On the ontological status of autism: The double empathy problem. Disability and Society 27:883–87.Google Scholar
Milton, D. & Sims, T. (2016) How is a sense of well-being and belonging constructed in the accounts of autistic adults? Disability & Society 31(4):520–34.Google Scholar
Rynkiewicz, A., Schuller, B., Marchi, E., Piana, S., Camurri, A., Lassalle, A. & Baron-Cohen, S. (2016) An investigation of the “female camouflage effect” in autism using a computerized ADOS-2 and a test of sex/gender differences. Molecular Autism 7(1):10.Google Scholar
Sameroff, A. (1975) Transactional models in early social relations. Human Development 18:6579.Google Scholar
Sasson, N. J., Faso, D. J., Nugent, J., Lovell, S., Kennedy, D. P. & Grossman, R. B. (2017) Neurotypical peers are less willing to interact with those with autism based on thin slice judgments. Scientific Reports 7:40700. Available at: http://www.nature.com/articles/srep40700.Google Scholar
Sheppard, E., Pillai, D., Wong, G., Ropar, D. & Mitchell, P. (2016) How easy is it to read the minds of people with autism spectrum disorder? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 46(4):1247–54.Google Scholar