In recent decades, clinicians and researchers have become increasingly aware of a form of extreme social withdrawal lasting at least six months, known as hikikomori [ 1 ]. The term was coined in the late 1990s by Japanese psychiatrist Saitō Tamaki to describe individuals who withdraw almost entirely from social life, isolating themselves within their home – often in a single room – refusing school or work, and avoiding face-to-face relationships. While some remain connected t

Over the past two decades, research on autism has expanded at an extraordinary pace. Studies on prevalence, lived experience, and intervention strategies now appear almost daily. Yet this increase in quantity has not always been matched by quality. Many papers recycle familiar themes: autistic people struggling in a “non-autistic world,” the “stigma of autism,” or the idea that camouflaging one’s autistic traits is uniquely damaging. While none of these claims are inherently