Overcoming the Double Empathy Problem Within Pairs of Autistic and Non-autistic Adults Through the Contemplation of Serious Literature.

Melissa Chapple,Joe Anthony Myrick,Cassie Ruddock,Philip Davis,Josie Billington,Rhiannon Corcoran

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.708375

Melissa Chapple, Joe Anthony Myrick + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.708375

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Abstract

Recent research based on the needs of the autistic community has explored the frequent social misunderstandings that arise between autistic and non-autistic people, known as the double empathy problem. Double empathy understandings require both groups to respect neurodiversity by focussing on individuality across groups. This study aimed to explore how literature, through its ability to uncover nuanced emotional response differences between readers, could facilitate double empathy understandings within pairs of autistic and non-autistic adults. A longitudinal, qualitative design was used, with 4 gender-matched pairs. Participants read Of Mice and Men for 1 week, whilst completing a structured, reflective diary. This was followed by 4 one-hour paired reading sessions, where pairs discussed the book and their reflections in depth. Participants were then invited to a final one-on-one interview to discuss their thoughts and experiences of the paired reading sessions. Thematic and literary analysis of the session and interview data revealed four themes (1) The Book as Social Oil; (2) From a World of Difference to a World of Affinity; (3) Emotional Intelligence: From Thinking About to Feeling with; and (4) From Overwhelming to Overcoming. All participants reported having achieved an individualised view of one another to explore their nuanced differences. The non-autistic group reported a more sensitive understanding of what it means to be autistic, while the autistic group overcame concerns about non-autistic people stereotyping autism, and instead reported feeling valued and accommodated by their non-autistic partners.

Highlights

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that results in distinguishably different socio-cognitive processing styles which pose advantages and disadvantages within current societal norms (FletcherWatson and Happé, 2019; Robinson et al, 2019)
Since the identification of autism as a condition in the 1940s, the framing of autistic people has been dominated by the medical model of Shared Reading and Double Empathy disability (Waltz, 2013)
The current study qualitatively explores changes in understanding and the double empathy problem between autistic and non-autistic participants as a result of shared reading discussions

Summary

Introduction

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that results in distinguishably different socio-cognitive processing styles which pose advantages and disadvantages within current societal norms (FletcherWatson and Happé, 2019; Robinson et al, 2019). With many individuals continuing to rely on medical diagnosis for identification (Mogensen and Mason, 2015; Leedham et al, 2020), the medical model continues to influence how autism is thought about and explored, resulting in deficit-based conceptualisations and priorities (Waltz, 2013; Kapp, 2020) These deficit-based approaches result in a “lock and key” mentality toward autistic individuals, assuming that they need to be unlocked in some way to bring their information processing style closer to typical human neurocognition (Waltz, 2013). The problem with this approach is that it rests on the assumption that there is a typical form of human neurocognition, a state of “neuronormativity” often referred to as being neurotypical (Milton, 2020; Mueller, 2020)

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