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.
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…
This small study asked 15 people who had SSRI-related sexual problems to rate their emotions on a questionnaire. Compared with control participants, most of these patients reported weaker emotional responses across many areas, and 80% described clinically meaningful emotional blunting. The reduced emotional scores were statistically significant (p
This review examines empathy in people with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). It says empathy is not simply missing in NPD, but is complex and varies by situation and motivation. The paper notes empathy has two parts—feeling with others (emotional empathy) and understanding others' thoughts and feelings (cognitive empathy)—and finds emotional…
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is a label used in the UK for people who show a persistent, strong resistance to everyday demands. It is linked to autism but the label is controversial and is not an official clinical diagnosis. Research on demand avoidance is very limited and mostly low quality,…
The neurodiversity movement grew out of autistic self-advocacy groups in the mid-1990s that met online. It is a social justice movement that asks for civil rights, equality, respect and inclusion for neurodivergent people. Early email lists and forums such as ANI-L (1994) and InLv (founded 1996) helped shape the idea…
