Abstract

Historically, autistic people have been portrayed as lacking empathy. However, more recent research reveals mutual, rather than one-sided, gaps in empathy between autistic and neurotypical (NT) people. Decreased empathy can lead to marginalization and even violence, usually toward those in the minority. Regardless of diagnosis, however, there are fundamental aspects of the human experience upon which empathy could be built. In the present study, we explored commonalities and differences in how autistic and NT individuals experience comfort and discomfort. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to discover the causes, emotions, and reactions to comfortable and uncomfortable social situations and environments across autistic and NT individuals. Thematic analysis revealed three universal influences of comfort and discomfort across groups, including social influences, environmental influences, and personal/emotional influences. Each of these main themes revealed subthemes exploring how autistic and NT individuals differ and overlap. Analysis of all themes, subthemes, and codes revealed that autistic individuals differ in degree and frequency, rather than type, of factors influencing comfort and discomfort. Knowledge of these themes and findings could help to challenge the outdated belief in autistic empathy deficits and promote empathy-building.

Degree

MS

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Communication Disorders

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2024-06-03

Document Type

Thesis

Handle

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd13260

Keywords

double empathy problem, autism, empathy, neurodiversity, thematic analysis

Language

english

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