This post continues a critical analysis of a list of memes titled What Not to Say to an Autistic Person . The first “not to” – “You don’t look autistic”  – was examined in the previous post . Here, we turn to two further entries on that list: “ We’re all on the spectrum ”  and “ Everyone is a bit autisti c .” Both statements are routinely dismissed as ignorant and/or offensive. Yet their persistence suggests that something more than simple misunderstanding is at work. These p

How Research on “Frank” Autism Undermines a Persistent and Harmful Meme With a few friends, I have started working on a project that may be seen as controversial but feels deeply important to those of us who live with the consequences of how autism is constantly redefined, reframed, and repackaged online[ 1 ]. We decided to start small—by analysing the memes that circulate endlessly across social media—and then follow the discussion wherever it leads us. When I looked at a li

Over the past decade, mental health awareness campaigns have expanded significantly across the Western world. These efforts, ranging from school-based interventions to high-profile celebrity disclosures, have reduced stigma, improved mental health literacy, and encouraged help-seeking (Sampogna et al. 2017; Schomerus et al. 2012; Henderson et al. 2017). At the same time, however, reported rates of mental health conditions—including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and s

Autism has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent decades. Once thought of as a rare and narrowly defined childhood condition,...

In most cases, ASD is diagnosed between 15 and 30 months. Some children exhibit typical early development, only to lose acquired language and social skills between 15 and 30 months. These cases qualify as regressive autism. However, there are instances of late onset autism where individuals appear to develop typically until adolescence or even adulthood before displaying symptoms consistent with autism. In such cases, an identifiable neurological insult, such as, e.g, herpes

Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the ability to attribute mental states—such as beliefs, intentions, and emotions—to oneself and others, enabling social understanding and interaction (Green et al. 2015; Poletti et al. 2012). It consists of two primary components: cognitive ToM (reasoning about thoughts and beliefs) and affective ToM (reasoning about emotions), which interact but function separately (Shamay-Tsoory 2011; Sprung et al. 2022). Conceptual and Terminological Challeng

Theory of Mind (ToM) has been applied not only to humans and animals but also to Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. The extent to wh

The theory of mind  (ToM) has been instrumental in shaping research in psychology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, providing a theoretical framework for investigating the cognitive processes underlying social interaction and communication. Social cognitive deficits appear to be a core cognitive phenotype of many clinical conditions (Cotter et al. 2018). Early work in social cognition focused on the central role of ToM impairments as a hallmark feature of ASD  (Baro

How Comparisons with Down Syndrome Have Changed Premack and Woodruff's seminal study in 1978 introduced the concept of theory of mind...

Art activities have shown to be highly beneficial for autistic individuals (Vrisaba et al. 2021) because art offers a unique medium through which they can convey their thoughts, emotions, and experiences without the need for words (Bernier et al. 2022). Art serves as a powerful medium for individuals to freely express themselves, transcending the limitations of language and societal norms. It provides a nurturing environment for exploration, self-discovery, and the cultivatio

Alexithymia is considered a “sub-clinical phenomenon” (Silani et al. 2008) and doesn’t identify a personality disorder  per se  but is a personality trait that is dimensional in nature (Taylor et al. 1991). Alexithymia is not a symptom of autism, but rather an independent construct that frequently co-occurs with autism. Although alexithymia has similar symptoms , it is distinct from autism – it is neither a necessary nor sufficient feature for an autism diagnosis, and there a

The connection between alexithymia and ASD was initially explored in the 1990s through clinical studies on individuals with eating disorders, specifically anorexia nervosa (AN).   The studies revealed the co-occurrence of eating disorders with deficiencies in social competence and identified some traits that were considered typical of ASD, [ 1 ]   such as empathy problems, as well as some features considered typical of alexithymia, such as difficulty verbalising emotions, ide

The Diagnostic Difficulties Chronic pain is quite common in autism , yet it is often unrecognised (and undiagnosed). The diagnosis of chronic pain in autistic individuals poses unique and intricate challenges due to various factors. Overlap of autism symptoms with pain signs The overlap between autism symptoms and pain indicators can lead to the misinterpretation of pain signals. Careful consideration and comprehensive assessments are necessary to differentiate pain-related b

‘Autistic people don’t do metaphors’ Because of their literal interpretation, autistic children do experience difficulties in understanding figurative language. However, figurative language is a wide concept which means the use of words or phrases that deviate from their literal interpretation to achieve a more complex or powerful effect. It includes, for example: - s imile (a figure of speech that a simile compares  two similar things using ‘like’ or ‘as’): many autistic ch

Hypersensitive Narcissism and Hypersensitivity in ASD

Overlaps, prevalence and comorbidity Overlapping symptoms It is now recognised that ASD and personality disorders (PDs) have a variety of factors in common. However, the exact nature of the relationship between ASD and the PDs remains unclear. Differentiating between ASD in adolescence and adulthood and PDs can often be challenging due to the similarity in symptomatology. For instance: -      PDs belonging to cluster A, such as schizoid or schizotypal, exhibit odd behaviours

Is there a hidden connection? Personality Disorders (PDs) and ASDs are distinct yet interconnected psychiatric disorders/ psychological conditions. Despite fundamental differences in their symptomatology and diagnostic criteria, both disorders share certain overlapping characteristics. Firstly, it is important to establish the defining features of PDs and ASDs. Personality Disorders   are characterised by enduring patterns of thoughts, emotions, and inflexible, maladaptive, o

Distinct features and diagnostic challenges of psychosis in autis m Although there is a considerable overlap in symptoms, it is important to recognize that autism and psychosis are distinct conditions . Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for these two conditions to co-occur, and their comorbidity rates are significantly higher compared to the general adult population. Intriguingly, significant associations were found between autistic traits and probable psychosis and psychotic

Distinguishing between hallucinations and “hallucinations” Hallucinations are said to be false perceptions that occur in the absence of appropriate external stimuli, and are usually seen by only one individual. Most often they are experienced by people with specific kinds of mental illness, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. However, it is important to distinguish between hallucinations and “hallucinations”. For instance, it is known that children normally have much

There are other types of echolalia that are difficult to explain, for example, involuntary echolalia , when the person blurts out words...