Open Society

Purpose There is a common mischaracterisation that autistic individuals have reduced or absent empathy. Measurement issues may have influenced existing findings on the relationships between autism and empathy, and the structure of the empathy construct in autism remains unclear. Methods The present study sought to address these gaps by examining the structure and psychometric properties of the Perth Empathy Scale (PES) in autistic individuals (N = 239) compared to non-autistic individuals (N = 690). Results Our moderated non-linear factor analysis revealed that the multidimensional empathy construct manifested similarly in autistic and non-autistic individuals, with the PES displaying good validity and reliability. Moreover, the results revealed that autistic individuals reported reduced cognitive empathy and reduced affective empathy for positive and negative emotions. However, there was greater heterogeneity of empathic tendencies in the autistic sample, indicating that these mean differences may not be generalisable for all autistic individuals. Conclusion 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 of describing empathy in autism.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in everyday activities.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the most comprehensive federal civil rights statute protecting the rights of people with disabilities. It affects access to employment; state and local government programs and services; access to places of public accommodation such as businesses, transportation, and nonprofit service providers; and telecommunications.

A protocol for utilizing design thinking to plan experiential projects. | A free resource hosted at Human Restoration Project on progressive education.

From custom image descriptions to effortless meeting notes, these tools are game-changers.

Background: In the United Kingdom, more than 2.5 million adults with undiagnosed neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), can face difficulties accessing diagnosis and support. Our qualitative study explores people’s experiences of receiving a diagnosis in adulthood and its impact on their lives. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with seven health care professionals and 13 late-diagnosed adults (5 autistic, 5 with ADHD, and 3 with dual diagnoses) using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: We developed five themes from the analysis representing the journey and factors influencing participants’ experiences of receiving a late diagnosis: (1) the key role of relationships and mental well-being; (2) the wider impact on well-being and lifelong mental health; (3) understanding—the answer to postdiagnosis changes; (4) the flip side of diagnosis—the burden of a label; and (5) are you ready—the importance of timing. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates the multiple impacts a lack of diagnosis has and the many benefits experienced from receiving one. Although a lack of diagnosis can at times have some negative effects, the importance of understanding and the wider impacts on relationships and mental well-being are discussed. Primarily, the emerging concept of being ready and the importance of the right timing highlight an important nuance in the diagnosis journey.

One of the retired Professors was reflecting on a lifetime in autism work. She said that a big change was the 'escape' of autism from the ...

Over the next few decades, agility will not come from speed; it will come from the ability to explore multiple domains at once and combine them into something that produces value. This means computer scientists working with cancer scientists, for example, to identify specific genetic markers that could lead to a cure. This change will be profound and we will need to rethink old notions about how we compete, collaborate, and bring new products to market. Here are three key shifts.

Minding Bodies Susan Hrach

Discover The Anthropology of Childhood, 3rd Edition, David F. Lancy, HB ISBN: 9781108837781 on Higher Education from Cambridge

Edwin Hutchins combines his background as an anthropologist and an open ocean racing sailor and navigator in this account of how anthropological methods can ...

What makes "schoolish" learning alienating, and how do we put authenticity and joy back into education? An education podcast from Human Restoration Project.

After adjusting for the new tax revenue, the state currently faces a budget gap of around $233 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30.

In this episode, Ed Zitron tracks the history of the growth-at-all-costs rot economy to a court case in 1916 that established the Shareholder Supremacy, and set the terms for General Electric's Jack Welch to fundamentally break capitalism, an era where companies moved away from building lasting, sustainable companies that created things and instead began focusing on pleasing shareholders - and how it leads to today's terrible tech companies and leaders. LINKS: https://tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks Newsletter: wheresyoured.at Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/betteroffline Discord chat.wheresyoured.at Ed's Socials - http://www.twitter.com/edzitroninstagram.com/edzitronhttps://bsky.app/profile/zitron.bsky.socialhttps://www.threads.net/@edzitron

This Review outlines the current state of scientific evidence on long COVID, discusses its impacts on patients, health systems, economies and global health metrics, and proposes a forward-looking research and policy roadmap.

While organizers say the call was a success, participants and community leaders are frustrated by a lack of substance, organization and policy discussion.

Disabled patients are rightfully terrified of being hospitalized. We are stripped of our agency and control in a hospital environment. Having an effective advocate can vastly improve the experience.

Warner Bros. Discovery shut down Cartoon Network's website and redirected visitors to a sign-up page on Max.

Sociologists – and social scientists more broadly – have often resorted to ‘public sociology’ and ‘activist research’ (AvR) with the aim of producing useful kno...

After the police killing of Philando Castile, his mother, Valerie Castile, has helped raise more than $200,000 to pay off the cafeteria debt of kids who can’t afford school lunch. On Friday, Governor Tim Walz signed a bill providing a basic breakfast and lunch to every kid in Minnesota.

Katie Ledecky, the most decorated U.S. female Olympian in history, wrote about her journey to her POTS diagnosis and initial decision to keep it private in her book “Just Add Water: My Swimming Life.”

Since 1969, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) has been classified as a neurological disease in the International Classification of Diseases by the World Health Organization. Although numerous studies over time have uncovered organic abnormalities in patients with ME/CFS, and the majority of researchers to date classify the disease as organic, many physicians still believe that ME/CFS is a psychosomatic illness. In this article, we show how detrimental this belief is to the care and well-being of affected patients and, as a consequence, how important the education of physicians and the public is to stop misdiagnosis, mistreatment, and stigmatization on the grounds of incorrect psychosomatic attributions about the etiology and clinical course of ME/CFS.

You’ve probably seen by now that one of the stars of the Olympics collapsed in Paris last night with covid.

Vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz’s “Midwestern dad vibe” comes with opportunities to rethink a whole tool kit of types.

Chronic illness has a way of picking apart your mind and breaking your heart.

Behaviour settings are sociocultural places defined by three main ecological aspects: the affordances of material structures, typical patterns of skilful action and socially situated norms. These aspects explain the observed regularities of human ...

"Old and weird?" is linguistically interesting, and a new departure in political messaging. Let's see why.Edited with Gling AI: https://bit.ly/46bGeYv#lingui...

Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen, are opening up to PEOPLE about their 'brilliant' 17-year-old son, Gus, who has a non-verbal learning disorder, ADHD and an anxiety disorder — all conditions that they call his 'secret power'

The thesis built on Walz's own teaching and training from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” DEI, is not a slur or offensive term.