Tag: Autism
-
Fair Shares for All: Autism, Theory of Mind and Moral Choices
A look at “Theory of Mind and Moral Decision-Making in the Context of Autism Spectrum Disorder” by Jessica E. Ringshaw, Katie Hamilton and Susan Malcolm-Smith (2022) Imagine you have ten stickers to share between two children. One worked harder, or has fewer toys, or is unwell. Do you give more to the child who seems…
-
Late-Diagnosed? The Grief, the Relief and Everything In Between
You’ve spent decades thinking you were lazy, too sensitive, scatty, odd or just “too much”. Then, in your thirties, forties or later, a diagnosis of ADHD or autism reframes everything. It’s a moment many adults describe as both a gift and a gut punch. What the research says The number of adults receiving a diagnosis…
-
The Case of the Nearly Empty Review: Single-Session Support for Autistic People
A look at “Brief Report: Single-Session Interventions for Mental Health Challenges in Autistic People: An (Almost) Empty Systematic Review” by Dawn Adams (2026) There’s something rather delightful about a research paper that admits, right there in its title, that it found almost nothing. This Australian review set out to gather all the evidence on single-session…
-
Does Therapy Work for Autistic Young People? A Meta-Analysis Weighs In
A look at “Meta-analysis of Psychotherapy for Autistic Youth” by Kashia A. Rosenau, Junok Kim, An-Chuen Billy Cho, Michael Seltzer, Ana M. Ugueto, John R. Weisz and Jeffrey J. Wood (2026) Parents of autistic children are sometimes told, in one way or another, that talking therapy “won’t work” for their child. Too literal, too rigid,…
-
Getting an ADHD or Autism Assessment in England: A Practical Guide
Wondering whether you might be ADHD or autistic, and not sure where to start? You’re far from alone. Demand for adult assessments has soared in recent years, and the system can feel like a maze. Here’s a guide to the main routes in England. Step one: your GP For an NHS assessment, the usual starting…
-
Neurodivergent-Friendly Therapy: Adjustments You Can Ask For
Therapy is traditionally built around a very particular format: a 50-minute conversation, face to face, in a quiet room, with lots of open-ended questions and plenty of eye contact. For many neurodivergent people, that format is part of the problem. The good news is that it can be changed, and you’re allowed to ask. What…
-
Fifteen Years of Trauma Science in One Sitting
A look at “The impact of trauma and how to intervene: a narrative review of psychotraumatology over the past 15 years” by Miranda Olff, Irma Hein and 21 colleagues (2025) A gentle note: this post discusses trauma in general terms. To celebrate its 15th birthday, the European Journal of Psychotraumatology asked its editors, a who’s…
-
On the Other Side of the Chair: What It’s Like to Be an Autistic Counsellor
A look at “To understand the experiences of autistic counsellors: A United Kingdom phenomenological study” by Jade Rita Taylor and Michael Sims (2024) There’s an old, stubborn myth that autistic people lack empathy. If that were true, you’d hardly expect to find them in one of the most empathy-heavy professions going. Yet autistic counsellors are…
-
Robots, Magnets and Nasal Sprays: A Tour of What’s New in Autism Support
A look at “Novel therapeutics in autism spectrum disorder” by Sara Daniella Kevelson, Rana Elmaghraby, Fenil Patel, Hallie Brown, Michelle Gorenstein, Jennifer Bain, Zachary Michael Grinspan, Ernie Pedapati, Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele and Pankhuree Vandana (2026) Every few months a headline promises an autism breakthrough: a hormone spray, a brain-stimulating headset, a friendly robot. So what’s genuinely…
-
Needles, Ponies and Dolphins: A Whistle-Stop Tour of Autism Interventions
A look at “A Review of Therapeutic Approaches for Autism Spectrum Disorder” by Yang Hai, Saihan Bai, Huiting Qiao, Deyu Li, Daifa Wang and Meiyun Xia (2025) If you’ve ever searched online for autism support, you’ll know the options can feel like a never-ending fairground: medication, behavioural programmes, acupuncture, brain stimulation, music, horses, dolphins. This…
-
More Hours, More Magic? Why Quality Beats Quantity in Autism Support
A look at “Behavioral approach to autism spectrum disorder: quality versus quantity in interventions” by Jaime Lin, Júlio César Claudino dos Santos and Cinara Ludvig Gonçalves (2026) There’s a stubborn myth in autism support that therapy works like a potion: double the dose, double the sparkle. If ten hours a week is good, surely forty…
-
AuDHD Hiding in Plain Sight: Autistic Traits in Adults with ADHD
A look at “Autism spectrum traits in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a hidden multifaceted phenotype marked by affective comorbidity, emotional dysregulation, and chronobiological disturbances” by Giulio Emilio Brancati, Ugo De Rosa, Anna Magnesa, Irene Cocciaro, Elena Costagli, Anna Iriti, Berenice Rimoldi, Matteo Vedovelli, Pierpaolo Medda, Elisa Schiavi and Giulio Perugi (2025) ADHD and autism…
-
Masking and Camouflaging: The Hidden Cost of Fitting In
Rehearsing conversations before you have them. Copying other people’s facial expressions. Forcing eye contact. Suppressing the urge to move, fidget or stim. Going home and collapsing. If this sounds familiar, you may know all about masking, also called camouflaging: hiding or compensating for neurodivergent traits in order to fit in. What the research says In…
-
From Kanner to Algorithms: Is AI the Future of Autism Support?
A look at “Dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Journey from Traditional Methods to Artificial Intelligence” by Anjali Sahai (2025) Artificial intelligence is being promoted as the answer to almost everything these days, and autism is no exception. This Indian narrative review surveys the journey from the earliest descriptions of autism to the latest AI tools…
-
Following the Money: What Insurance Data Says About Autism and ADHD
A look at “Real-world evaluation of prevalence, cohort characteristics, and healthcare utilization and expenditures among adults and children with autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or both” by Amanda L. Zaleski, Kelly J. Thomas Craig, Raiha Khan, Rebecca Waber, Wei Xin, Makia Powers, Una Ramey, Dorothea J. Verbrugge and Deborah Fernandez-Turner (2025) Numbers can tell…
-
Rolling the Dice: Neurodivergence and Gambling Harm
A look at “Neurodiversity and gambling harm: a Rapid Evidence Assessment” by Amy Sweet (2026) Flashing lights, instant rewards, the thrill of “just one more go”: gambling is practically engineered to grab a brain that craves stimulation. With gambling now available 24/7 on our phones, and gaming increasingly blending into gambling through loot boxes and…
-
The Double Empathy Problem: Communication Is a Two-Way Street
For decades, autistic people were described as lacking empathy, or struggling with “theory of mind”: the ability to understand what others are thinking. But what if the difficulty isn’t one-sided? What if non-autistic people find it just as hard to understand autistic people? That’s the idea behind the double empathy problem, and it’s changed how…
-
Mapping the Hurt: What 199 Studies Say About Autism and Trauma
A look at “Trauma and Autism: A Scoping Review of the Literature” by Marie-Michèle Dufour, Katia Kutlesa, Jade Éliane Klemme, Charlotte Moore, Philippe Leroux, Justine Larochelle-Guy, Megane Jalbert and Isabelle Préfontaine (2026) A gentle note: this post discusses trauma in general terms. Autistic people are more likely to experience bullying, victimisation and other traumatic events,…
-
DBT for Autistic People: Promising, With a Pinch of Salt
A look at “Efficacy of dialectical behavior therapy-based interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis” by Guimei Fan, Pei Wang, Wenjing Zhang and Xiaorui Chen (2026) A gentle note: this post mentions suicidal thoughts. Many autistic people experience emotions that arrive like a tidal wave, and sadly, autistic people face…
-
Freezing, Screens and Social Anxiety: Adapting CBT for an Autistic Teenager
A look at “Autism-adapted cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety in an adolescent with late-identified autism spectrum disorder: a case report” by Hajji Hazem, Kerkeni Ali, Chaabane Maryam, Youzbechi Fatma, Hssen Oumayma, Kerkeni Hajer, Beji Mayssa and Abbes Wafa (2026) Sometimes autism isn’t noticed until adolescence, when the social world suddenly gets a lot more…