Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
The study introduced the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), a short self-test that gives a score from 0 to 50 to measure autistic traits in adults with normal intelligence. The researchers tested four groups (58 adults with Asperger/high-functioning autism; 174 random controls; 840 Cambridge students; and 16 math Olympiad winners) and found…
Researchers interviewed 92 adults with autism to study “camouflaging,” which means hiding or changing autistic behaviors in social situations. They used thematic analysis to make a three-stage model. People said they camouflage to fit in and make connections. Camouflaging included masking (hiding traits) and compensation (using learned social techniques). Reported…
Researchers tested the 80-question Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R) in 779 adults at nine centers on three continents. The tool showed large score differences between 201 people with confirmed Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and 578 comparison participants, and the authors concluded it is a useful tool to help clinicians…
The present study highlights that the PES is suitable for assessing empathy across autistic and non-autistic individuals. This work with the PES also provides greater nuance to our understanding of empathy and autism, and based on these findings, we propose the empathy heterogeneity hypothesis of autism as a new way…
