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SUMMARY:Searching for a “Double Empathy Solution”: Mixed-Neurotype Soc
 ial Interactions in Educational Settings\, Empathic Accuracy\, and the Rol
 e of Disclosing Autism Diagnosis - Dr Yonat Rum\, The Hebrew University of
  Jerusalem
DTSTART:20250730T150000Z
DTEND:20250730T160000Z
UID:TALK234475@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Simon Braschi
DESCRIPTION:Difficulties in social interaction have been recognized as a c
 ore feature of autism\, with traditional theories locating the root cause 
 within the autistic "mind". The 'Double Empathy Problem' theory (Milton et
  al.\, 2022) reframes these challenges as bidirectional communication brea
 kdowns in mixed-neurotype interactions. This presentation examines this bi
 directional challenge through a systematic review of qualitative studies (
 107 studies\; 1\,798 participants) and two experimental research projects 
 using the Empathic Accuracy paradigm. Specifically\, we investigated invis
 ible aspects of mixed-neurotype interactions versus the effect of disclosi
 ng autism on empathy. The review revealed "invisible” challenges that pr
 ofoundly impact autistic students in educational settings\, such as loneli
 ness (reported even when students appeared included)\, and a twofold negat
 ive impact of camouflaging: poor mental health outcomes from masking autis
 tic traits during social interactions\, and hiding these struggles. The re
 view also identified positive features\, particularly meaningful mixed-neu
 rotype friendships and the positive effect of autism disclosure to peers. 
 In a series of experiments (N=235\; N=271) we also investigated more close
 ly how non-autistic people empathize with autistic people\, and how autism
  disclosure affects non-autistic individuals' empathy and social interest 
 towards an autistic social target. We found that disclosure improved self-
 reported empathy and empathic accuracy - non-autistic participants better 
 understood autistic individuals' emotions when aware of their diagnosis. H
 owever\, the impact on social interest varied across populations\, reveali
 ng complex dynamics between disclosure\, understanding\, and social connec
 tion (see our recently published paper for more details: https://link.spri
 nger.com/article/10.1007/s10803-025-06802-2). 
LOCATION:Douglas House and online https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81866331311?pw
 d=ZoVl1HOEsSNbwRvedQOLKhkcR8hGy3.1
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