Talk:Double empathy problem

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Autistic masking & bullying

I would like to share the observation/feedback that I find the section on Autistic masking to be overly negative.

In particular, the statement "Masking begins at a young age as a defense mechanism to avoid harassment and bullying" and subsequent discussion makes it seem like all (or at least the overwhelming majority of) autistic masking is the result of harassment and bullying. This is neither supported by academic research nor by reports of autistic people. Autistic people learn to mask and do mask for a variety of reasons, most commonly a desire to fit in socially.

The recent book

Sedgewick, Felicity; Hull, Laura; Ellis, Helen (2021). Autism and Masking: How and Why People Do It, and the Impact It Can Have. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 1-78775-580-0. OCLC 1287133295.

contains a short section on the double empathy problem (pp. 162--170). It doesn't discuss bullying in this context but makes some interesting observations on masking in interactions between autistic persons.

Is there a research paper that has explicitly explored masking from the framework of the double empathy problem? This would be a great addition for the entry on autistic masking as well!--TempusTacet (talk) 21:47, 7 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

You raise a valid point of concern here. I don't have much time to look thoroughly into the literature at the moment, but if you could improve on the autistic masking section of the double empathy problem page or at least reword it better, it'd be really appreciated! The 2021 book by Sedgewick, Hull, & Ellis sounds like an interesting read and I'll look into it once I have time. Thank you! Cflam01 (talk) 17:57, 8 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I'm more than happy to help.

However, as someone who has just a vague understanding of the double empathy problem, my main concern is that the section might currently represent a mixture of research & theorizing on the double empathy problem, research on bullying & stigma, and research on masking that creates connections/conclusions that could very well be valid but are not backed by third-party sources (i.e., a violation of WP:SYNTH).

Hence my question whether there is a paper that discusses masking and/or bullying from the perspective of the double empathy problem, which would allow me -- as someone reasonably familiar with the literature on the former topics -- to get a foot in the door.

It's important to me to emphasize that I don't see anything that I believe to be wrong as individual statements, it's just that upon a cursory look at the section & sources I don't see how the sources support the connections that are made, e.g., the idea that masking is always/only/mostly a result of bullying or the connection between masking, bullying, and ableism in autism research. (And I'm aware how difficult it must be to write such a summary article on an emerging, still-developing topic!) --TempusTacet (talk) 18:41, 8 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Intervention research

This line in the problems section bothers me:

"Furthermore, autism intervention research based on theory of mind has shown little efficacy[...]"

It seems to be promoting an understanding of autism as something to be solved or intervened in, which is part of the pathologising medical model of disability. The line presents effective intervention as a measure of success for a theory of autistic empathy, which suggests that autistic people need to be changed to be valuable/functional.

This is just my two cents as someone with suspected autism, I'll leave it to those more engaged with the research to make any changes. 130.195.253.45 (talk) 00:16, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]