Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-75dct Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-08T09:53:57.626Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The loneliness of me: The assumption of social disinterest and its worrying consequences in autism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2019

Rachel Louise Moseley Open the ORCID record for Rachel Louise Moseley [Opens in a new window]  and
Jie Sui
Rachel Louise Moseley
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bournemouth, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, United Kingdom. rmoseley@bournemouth.ac.uk
Jie Sui
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom. j.sui@bath.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We share Jaswal & Akhtar's concerns about the unintended repercussions of assumed social disinterest in autism. We expand consideration of these consequences with discussion of the literature and our own work on loneliness, mental ill-health, and self-representation, which is a cornerstone to social and emotional health. Further study is needed with expansive, mixed methodologies and involvement of the autistic community.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 42 , 2019 , e101
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barg, F. K., Huss-Ashmore, R., Wittink, M. N., Murray, G. F., Bogner, H. R. & Gallo, J. J. (2006) A mixed-methods approach to understanding loneliness and depression in older adults. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 61(6):S329–39. Available at: http://uq.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMw3V3Nb9MwFLemIU27IFYgDIbk0y6TqyROk_jAIaCxSlBNYquYuERJ7GzVujQk6UT_eni2kzhFPSDEiUMaxVEdfzy9D7_few8h6o5t8htPAEGTpFyAcAP1XzqfZNb1zHV8l4P80KUCzfHH3s__cuOjs9nih-BkpmpD11LP7KOm5luhLJ9XhYxGl7xOA5JbUKwCP17KGoogle Scholar
Bauminger, N. & Kasari, C. (2000) Loneliness and friendship in high-functioning children with autism. Child Development 71(2):447–56. Available at: http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00156Google Scholar
Bauminger, N., Solomon, M. & Rogers, S. J. (2010) Predicting friendship quality in autism spectrum disorders and typical development. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 40(6):751–61. Available at: http://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0928-8.Google Scholar
Cassidy, S. A., Bradley, L., Bowen, E. & Rodgers, J. (2018) Measurement properties of tools used to assess depression in adults with and without autism spectrum conditions: A systematic review. Autism Research 11(5):738–54.Google Scholar
Causton-Theoharis, J., Ashby, C. & Cosier, M. (2009) Islands of loneliness: Exploring social interaction through the autobiographies of individuals with autism. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 47(2):84–96. Available at: http://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-47.2.84Google Scholar
Cusack, J., Shaw, S., Spiers, J. & Sterry, R. (2016) Personal tragedies, public crisis: The urgent need for a national response to early death in autism. Autistica website. Available at: https://www.autistica.org.uk/downloads/files/Personal-tragedies-public-crisis-ONLINE.pdf.Google Scholar
Deckers, A., Muris, P. & Roelofs, J. (2017) Being on your own or feeling lonely? Loneliness and other social variables in youths with autism spectrum disorders. Child Psychiatry and Human Development 48(5):828–39. Available at: http://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-016-0707-7Google Scholar
Gillespie-Smith, K., Ballantyne, C., Branigan, H., Turk, D. & Cunningham, S. (2018) The I in autism: Severity and social functioning in autism are related to self-processing. British Journal of Developmental Psychology 36:127–41.Google Scholar
Hedley, D., Uljarevic, M., Wilmot, M., Richdale, A. & Dissanayake, C. (2018) Understanding depression and thoughts of self-harm in autism: a potential mechanism involving loneliness. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 46:1–7.Google Scholar
Heidgerken, A. D., Geffken, G., Modi, A. & Frakey, L. (2005) A survey of autism knowledge in a health care setting. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 35(3):323–30. Available at: http://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-005-3298-xGoogle Scholar
Hickey, A., Crabtree, J. & Stott, J. (2018) “Suddenly the first fifty years of my life made sense”: Experiences of older people with autism. Autism 22(3):357–67.Google Scholar
Lasgaard, M., Nielsen, A., Eriksen, M. E. & Goossens, L. (2010) Loneliness and social support in adolescent boys with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 40(2):218–26. Available at: http://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0851-z.Google Scholar
Lombardo, M. V. & Baron-Cohen, S. (2011) The role of the self in mindblindness in autism. Consciousness and Cognition 20:130–40. Available at: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2010.09.006Google Scholar
Nicolaidis, C., Raymaker, D. M., Ashkenazy, E., McDonald, K. E., Dern, S., Baggs, A. E. V., Kapp, S. K., Weiner, M. & Boisclair, W. C. (2015) “Respect the way I need to communicate with you”: Healthcare experiences of adults on the autism spectrum. Autism 19(7):824–31. Available at: http://doi.org/10.1177/1362361315576221.Google Scholar
Sui, J. & Gu, X. (2017) Self as object: Emerging trends in self research. Trends in Neurosciences 40(11):643–53. Available at: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2017.09.002.Google Scholar
Sui, J. & Humphreys, G. W. (2015) The integrative self: How self-reference integrates perception and memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 19(12):719–28. Available at: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2015.08.015Google Scholar
Zerbo, O., Massolo, M. L., Qian, Y. & Croen, L. A. (2015) A study of physician knowledge and experience with autism in adults in a large integrated healthcare system. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 45(12):4002–14. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2579-2.Google Scholar