What Is the Double Empathy Problem?
- HEALIS AUTISM CENTRE
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
As most know, one of the issues people with Autism face is a difficulty with social interactions and communication, especially involving non-Autistic people. It’s been found that most Autistic people do want to socialise and make friends, so where does the problem lie?
Previously, we believed that people with Autism struggle with social interaction because they are inherently “lacking” in social skills, and ability to pick up on social cues and behaviours. A “mind-blindness” theory where Autistic individuals struggle to understand that other people have different thoughts and beliefs than themselves was also thought to be a large part of the issue. However, research shows that even though Autistic people struggle in social communication with their neurotypical peers, they are able to communicate and empathise better with other Autistic individuals (Crompton et al., 2020a; Crompton et al., 2020b).
A new theory by Dr. Damian Milton (2012) suggests that both the neurodivergent and neurotypical person in a social interaction are involved equally in the “miscommunication” within the interaction — and the “empathy problem [is] a two-way street” (Milton, 2012). A double empathy means that in the interaction, both the autistic and neurotypical person are attempting to understand and empathise with the other; however, a disjoint occurs since the way each experiences the world, as well as their personal understandings, is vastly different. The problem then is not that Autistic people lack the ability to empathise or socialise, but rather that the way in which they do so is not what a neurotypical person is expecting, and vice versa. This theory presents a shift in the way interactions between neurodivergent and neurotypical people are viewed, and the difficulty of social interactions are not to be blamed on the Autistic person’s cognition alone.
Implications of the Theory
The introduction of a two-way double empathy theory takes into account the different cognitions and social understandings of both the neurotypical and neurodivergent party involved. As mentioned, this has the potential to reframe the way we think of Autism and the capabilities and cognitions of people with Autism. Rather than a “social communication disorder”, Autism could be perhaps instead seen as a “broad range of developmental differences and embodied experiences and how they play out in specific social and cultural contexts” (Milton, Gurbuz & López, 2022).
It seems obvious that the way to get about the double empathy problem would be to narrow the gap in understanding between Autistic and neurotypical people. However, this is easier said than done, especially since there is already such a prevalent belief within society about the social and communication capabilities of Autistic people. Research has also shown that our social norms and normative ‘empathy’ may in fact feel invasive and imposing to people with Autism (Milton, 2012).
The first step we can take might hence be to deconstruct our preconceived assumptions about Autistic people, and treat them with humility in spite of our communication differences (a difference in variance, not value), and build support and rapport. Additionally, this also highlights the importance of certain training programs for professionals (Zamzow, 2021) to learn how to interact with Autistic people as a neurotypical.
Written by: Kai Sin
References
Crompton, C. J., Ropar, D., Evans-Williams, C. V., Flynn, E. G., & Fletcher-Watson, S. (2020).
Autistic peer-to-peer information transfer is highly effective. Autism, 24(7), 1704-1712.
Crompton, C. J., Sharp, M., Axbey, H., Fletcher-Watson, S., Flynn, E. G., & Ropar, D. (2020).
Neurotype-Matching, but not being Autistic, influences self and observer ratings of
interpersonal rapport. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 586171.
DeThorne, L. S. (2020). Revealing the double empathy problem. The ASHA Leader Archive,
Jopwell. (2019). Woman wearing teal dress talking to man. Pexels. Retrieved from
Milton, D. (2017). On the ontological status of autism: the ‘double empathy problem’. Disability & Society, 27(6), 883-887. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2012.710008
Milton, D., Gurbuz, E., & López, B. (2022). The ‘double empathy problem’: Ten years on.
Autism, 26(8), 1901-1903. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221129123
Zamzow, R. (2021). Double empathy, explained. Spectrum. https://doi.org/10.53053/MMNL2849