Dr Lena Matyjek

Full link here: www.autistica.org.uk/blog/trump-c...

I just read this post by @autistica.org.uk helping people make sense of the Trump administration's claims regarding the link between #Tylenol / #paracetamol and #autism:
shorturl.at/LYe6Q
It's a great, easy-to-follow, and accurate summary of the claims vis-a-vis evidence. Definitely recommended!

Publications and manuscripts Matyjek, M., Dziobek, I., Hamilton, A., Whetley, T. (2025), Social Interaction Style in Autism: A narrative review of social behaviours and outcomes in autistic and neurotypical interactions. Autis…

You can view the (free) author accepted manuscript here: lenamatyjek.com/publications/

That’s why we also stress including autistic voices in research. Who better to define what a meaningful social interaction looks like than those who experience them? Let's build more inclusive and accurate science. #Autism #Neurodiversity #DoubleEmpathyProblem

A crucial insight from our work is that understanding social interactions requires shifting perspective. Moving beyond individual “deficits” (especially in behaviours unrelated to outcomes) and focusing on relational dynamics gives a fuller, fairer picture of social experience.

Our takeaway: **different doesn’t mean deficient**. For example: while neurotypicals more eye contact may mean more connections with the other person, some autistic people may avoid eye contact but still form positive, meaningful connections with their interaction partners.

Crucially - not many studies related the behaviours to the interaction outcomes! Just because autistic people do something differently, it does not necessarily mean that it leads to less successful interactions, at least with other autistic individuals.

On the other hand, studies looking into behavioural differences show mixed results: we found both similarities (e.g., general turn-taking) and differences (e.g., reduced mutual gaze and backchanneling in autistic interactions) in social behaviours between the neurotypes.

Most support for the DEP (autistic individuals preferring interactions with other autistic rather than neurotypical peers) comes from studies that examine subjective ratings — for example, perceived rapport, sense of connection, or willingness to meet again.

A model of social interaction combining social ability, social behaviours, and social interaction outcomes.

We reviewed 25 studies looking into interaction between autistic, non-autistic, or mix-neurotype dyads and we systematically mapped social behaviours (like turn-taking or mutual gaze) and interaction outcomes (like established rapport).

Historically, social challenges in #autism have often been framed as “deficits” in autistic individuals. But what if (at least) some difficulties arise from differences in communication styles between neurotypes (autism vs neurotypical)? You may know this idea as the Double Empathy Problem (DEP).

Social Interaction Style in Autism: A Narrative Review of Social Behaviors and Outcomes in Autistic and Neurotypical Interactions | Autism in Adulthood Social interaction difficulties are a defining feature of autism. Historically, research has concentrated on comparing the social behaviors of autistic and neurotypical individuals in cross-neurotype ...

I'm so excited to finally share work that’s been a couple of years in the making!
See our new paper on *social interactions in #autism*, co-authored with Isabel Dziobek, @antoniahamilton.bsky.social & @thaliawheatley.bsky.social in @autisminadulthood.bsky.social 🎉
www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Postdoc in Social Dynamics and Complex Systems - DTU Compute Are you interested in uncovering the mechanisms underlying human social dynamics between dyads, groups, and social networks, during real-time social interaction? We invite applications for an appointm...

We're hiring a Postdoc!
Join us for 13 months of research on computational modelling of social dynamics!

We're looking for a candidate with a background in complex systems.

Please spread the word or get in touch if interested!
efzu.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

It's finally here! Looking forward to two days of immersion in facial expressions research from around the world at Reading Emotions 2025 sites.google.com/site/reading...
#ReadEmo25

We're looking for a PhD candidate for a project investigating neural synchrony in #autism at @upf.edu ! 🎓

📍 Location: Barcelona, Spain
📅 Duration: 3–4 years, starting Winter term 2025/26
🔍 About the project & application: See attachment 👇

Please share with anyone interested!

@mrgbcn.bsky.social

I'm excited to be joining Reading Emotions in a month! I hope to see many of you there :)

Register now for the 14th annual Reading Emotions on 26-27 June with a stellar interdisciplinary line-up of speakers to discuss “Facial expressions of emotion”. Submit abstracts for short talks and apply for travel grants sites.google.com/site/reading.... We look forward to seeing you at #ReadEmo25

Yes! My next bigger idea is to help create a Catalonia-based participatory autism group, so that the community can co-create knowledge rather than just participate in it locally. Atm, I’m looking for funding, options, and interested representatives… let me know if you have ideas to share! :)

Thats exactly the thing! :)

That’s a good point. I’m a researcher, so for us knowing more is always better- it makes the knowledge we generate more accurate and potentially more impactful. But you’re right- the world is more complex and we are not free of stigma and even discrimination. Thanks for the reminder!

Absolutely right. In some talks I get a push against neuroaffirmative language, in others even when I explicitly call for inclusive and non-ableist language I still get a criticism even for saying „atypicality”, and in some… no one cares 😅 But I keep pushing - respect and inclusion are crucial!

Yeah, that’s a big topic. It’s amazing we’re understanding more and more about neurodiversity, but we don’t have good models for this complexity and overlaps. There’s a lot of promise in the RDOC approach, but it’s yet to show some breakthroughs…

Ah, got it! Makes sense. I never thought of the word „spectrum” as something necessarily linear, but now that I think of it, I can’t come up with any example that doesn’t have this connotation (light, electromagnetic, etc). Thanks for that! :)

Don’t get me wrong - I’d always go for „autistic” over any expression with „spectrum”. It’s just for phrases where it’s actually useful to emphasise how heterogeneous autism is and that it IS a spectrum (with n dimensions, as we all agree).
[I think I replied before to the thread, sorry!]

Absolutely agreed. That’s why I’m looking for alternative options to the „traditional” ones. We should always try to capture the true richness of the experience, abilities and difficulties. But we also have to be pragmatic - sometimes we just can’t use a full description and need a shorter phrase…

I’m not sure I got it completely - do you mean that even the „circle” has a linear aspect from the middle to the outside? I agree. Although I think it doesn’t *have to* end with low/high func. I think it’s still a useful visualisation for those who are new to the concept, wouldn’t you agree?

Don’t get me wrong - I’d always go for „autistic” over any expression with „spectrum”. It’s just for phrases where it’s actually useful to emphasise how heterogeneous autism is and that it IS a spectrum (with n dimensions, as we all agree).

Here's a question to #Autistic friends: What do you think about "a person *in* the spectrum" instead of "*on* the spectrum"? This "in" is supposed to reflect better the multidimensionality of autism characteristics and reject the idea of linearity.

PS. I don't know who to credit for the image...🫣

It can really be overwhelming! I’m working on another project too, where we try to understand what behaviours autistic and neurotypical people produce, pick up on, and synchronise between each other in an interaction. Camouflaging is one of the things we control for!

Percepción de la información social en autismo - Specialisterne Spain

PS. Want to read about this study from the perspective of an autistic participant? Check the amazing article by
@montsebizarro
at specialisternespain.com/percepcion-d... [in ESP] 🙏