Double Empathy: Why Autistic People Are Often Misunderstood

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Crompton, C. J., DeBrabander, K. M., Heasman, B., Milton, D., & Sasson, N. J. (2021). Double Empathy: Why Autistic People Are Often Misunderstood. Frontiers for Young Minds, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2021.554875

Publication date: 11 May 2021 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)
  1. Catherine J. Crompton
  2. Kilee M. DeBrabander
  3. Brett Heasman
  4. Damian Milton *
  5. Noah J. Sasson

Abstract

Autism affects how someone makes sense of the world around them. About 1–2% of people are autistic. You might have an autistic classmate or family member, or maybe you are autistic. Autistic people might communicate differently than people who are not autistic. This means that it can be difficult for other people to understand what autistic people are trying to say or what they mean. We tend to think that people who are not autistic might be more successful at understanding other people, but in fact, autistic people may be better understood by other autistic people. We will examine and explain some research that has explored how autistic and non-autistic people communicate with each other and explore how this research fits with a theory called the double empathy problem. Understanding what makes interaction comfortable and easy for different people can help us all understand each other better.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Bibliography inclusion overview

These indicators describe the cited bibliography imported for this publication. Cited-reference metrics use the cited-reference total as denominator. Cited-author metrics state whether they use all cited-author occurrences or only occurrences linked to authors already integrated in the AutiHub database. They use cached links between cited authors and authors integrated in the AutiHub database. Last computed: 16 Aug 2026 11:31.

Cited references
9
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
3 / 9 (33.3%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
3 / 38 (7.9%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 3 / 24 (12.5%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 3 / 24 (12.5%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
24 / 38 (63.2%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 13 / 24 (54.2%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
21 / 24 (87.5%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 21 / 38 (55.3%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 10 / 13 (76.9%).
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    Type: Article DOI: 10.1038/srep40700 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2585989266
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  2. Damian Milton * , Brett Heasman , Elizabeth Sheppard (2020). Double Empathy . In Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders (pp. 1-9). Springer New York.
    Type: Book chapter DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102273-2 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4248155414
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  3. Brett Heasman , Alex Gillespie (2018). Perspective-taking is two-sided: Misunderstandings between people with Asperger’s syndrome and their family members . Autism, 22(6), 740-750. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1362361317708287 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2727105378
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    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
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    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1362361318785172 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2886786591
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
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    Type: Article DOI: 10.1089/aut.2019.0018 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2969930798
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations