Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by reduced pain empathy--a process that is grounded in first-hand pain perception. Because autistic traits are continuously distributed in the general population, we hypothesized that first-hand pain sensitivity would mediate the link between autistic traits and pain empathy. After controlling for…

This study aims to evaluate the relationship between social skills and sensory features, emotion regulation, and empathy in adolescents on the autism spectrum. One hundred and twenty-three adolescents were included in the study (50 autistic, 73 typically developing-TD adolescents). The participants filled out the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile…

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ([superscript 1]H-MRS) has shown inconsistent alterations in brain metabolites of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We investigated brain metabolites in the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala of 24 drug-naive adults with ASD and no intellectual disability and 24 non-ASD control subjects, using…

This study examined whether autistic people with siblings score higher on measures of empathy than those without siblings. Cohorts of autistic children (n = 939; mean age = 7.35 years (SD = 2.15)) and autistic adults (n = 736; mean age = 37 years (SD = 12.39)) from the Cambridge Autism Research Database (CARD) were each divided into two groups:…

Objectives: Two studies were conducted to better understand how children with intellectual disabilities (ID) empathize with the feelings of others during social interactions. The first study tested hypotheses of developmental delay or difference regarding empathy in 79 children with ID by comparing them with typically developing (TD) children,…

Recent evidence suggests that, contrary to traditional views, empathy difficulties may not be a core feature of autism; but are rather due to co-occurring alexithymia. Empathy, alexithymia and autistic traits have yet to be examined concurrently in children. Therefore, we examined the co-occurrence of empathy difficulties and alexithymia in 59…

Female Phenotype Theory (FPT) suggests that autistic women often present with less obvious social impairments than autistic men. We examined the possibility of an exaggerated female phenotype among undiagnosed but probably autistic women. In two nationwide online surveys, we compared self-reported social functioning and mental health between…

Individuals with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show altered behavioral synchrony and empathic behavior. Yet, an ecologically valid examination of these in adolescents is still required. We employed a social interaction sequence comprising a friendly conversation with a confederate, an expression of distress by her, and a return to friendly…

People on the autism spectrum may have difficulty inferring others' emotions (cognitive empathy), but may share another's emotions (affective empathy) and exhibit heightened personal distress. The present study examined independent autistic trait dimensions (social difficulties and restricted/repetitive behaviours) and the roles alexithymia and…

We tested whether empathy is impaired and associated with anxiety in girls with fragile X syndrome (FXS). We measured parent-reported empathy and self-reported anxiety in young girls with FXS and in a developmentally-matched comparison group. Girls with FXS received higher parent-reported scores on cognitive and affective empathy but also…

Although the core characteristics associated with autistic traits are impaired social interactions, there are few studies examining how autistic traits translate into prosocial behaviour in daily life. The current study explored the effect of autistic traits on prosocial behaviour and the mediating role of multimodal empathy (trait empathy and…

Adolescent and young adult (AYA) siblings of individuals with autism experience unique challenges that can promote both growth and emotional maladjustment. This study explored sibling and parent reports of siblings' lived experiences and identified learning, stressors, and concerns from those experiences. 20 neurotypical (NT) AYA siblings (ages…

To examine the potential mechanisms underlying social deficits in Turner Syndrome, we administered the empathic accuracy task (EAT)--a naturalistic social cognition task--and a (control) visual-motor line-tracking task to 14 girls with TS was compared to 12 age-matched typically developing girls (TD; ages 12 to 17). Empathic accuracy was compared…

Social impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been linked to Theory of Mind (ToM) deficits. However, little research has investigated the relationship between ToM and moral decision-making in children with ASD. This study compared moral decision-making and ToM between aggregate-matched ASD and neurotypical boys (n = 38 per group; aged…

A new task ('CARER') was used to test claims of reduced empathy in autistic adults. CARER measures emotion identification (ability to identify another's affective state), affective empathy (degree to which another's affective state causes a matching state in the Empathiser) and affect sharing (degree to which the Empathiser's state matches the…