Lower support needs | Dr. Holly E.A. Sutherland

Understanding the autistic social communication style (PhD)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Several recent studies have suggested that autistic people may communicate better with other autistic people than with non-autistic people. This suggests that there may be an autistic communication ‘style’, and that part of autistic communication difficulties is the mismatch between this style and non-autistic people’s style. However, we don’t currently know much about what this autistic communication style might look like. My PhD aims to improve our knowledge in this area, and use it to improve communication difficulties between autistic and non-autistic people.

My PhD consists of four studies. Studies 1 & 2 are two online focus groups with a small number of autistic adults, asking them about their experiences with socialising and communicating with other autistic adults vs. non-autistic adults. Study 3 is analysis of an existing dataset, looking at how well autistic and non-autistic observers can guess whether people in various social contexts (two autistic people interacting; two non-autistic people interacting; an autistic and a non-autistic person interacting) are autistic or not, from photographs and videos. Study 4 is an ethnographic study of autistic adults with high support needs, and their interactions with one another and (primarily non-autistic) staff in day support services. I am also producing some theory work that builds on Dr. Milton’s double empathy problem, focusing on why interactions between autistic and non-autistic people seem to be so difficult for both parties.

Understanding how autistic people communicate could help improve communication between autistic and non-autistic people, by providing ways for non-autistic people to adapt their communication to better suit autistic friends, family, and colleagues, or autistic people they work with professionally. The work with Scottish Autism, specifically, should have benefits for the autistic people who use their services by suggesting ways to improve communication between staff and supported people.

At the University of Edinburgh, September 2020 to December 2024. Supervised by Dr. Sue Fletcher-Watson, Dr. Catherine J. Crompton, and Dr. Joseph Long. Funded by Medical Research Scotland (PhD-50092-2019) and Scottish Autism.

Understanding autistic social communication, from autistic people’s perspective

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0000

“The same, but entirely different”: reframing autistic social communicative (dys)function through mixed methods research

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

'A difference in typical values': autistic perspectives on autistic social communication

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Holly Sutherland - Understanding Autistic Communication

Tue, 06 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

'Read my lips, not my body': a thematic analysis of autistic people’s social communication preferences, experiences, and expectations

Sun, 13 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Neuro-Affirming Support for Autistic People: Some Basic Principles

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 19:00:00 +0000

How successfully do autistic and non-autistic raters guess the diagnostic status of people having conversations?

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

How does social context affect observers' ability to identify autism in others?

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 11:20:00 +0000

How successfully do autistic and non-autistic raters guess the diagnostic status of autistic and non-autistic people having conversations? (Dataset)

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Talking to autistic people: what autistic people want you to know

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 16:15:00 +0000

Neuro-affirming support and intellectual disability: where do we start?

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Autistic perspectives on autistic social communication

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 12:45:00 +0000

“Read my lips, not my body”: the joys and challenges of autistic social communication

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000

“Read My Lips, Not My Body”: Autistic Perspectives on Communicating with (non-)Autistic People

Mon, 01 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Social communication in autism: the autistic perspective

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 20:30:00 +0000

Peer communication amongst neurodivergent people

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 11:30:00 +0000

Whose “support” is it anyway?: A critical look at supportive environments

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 09:30:00 +0000

Are social difficulties in autism context-dependent? Investigating how conversational partners affect the accuracy of observers’ judgements about a person’s autistic diagnostic status

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Understanding (and accommodating) an autistic social communicative ‘style’ to support autistic wellbeing

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Autistic social communication: ‘a minefield of problems’, or ‘a difference in typical values’?

Fri, 01 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Investigating (non-)autistic success at identifying (non-)autistic people in videos and pictures

Fri, 01 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

“The key is acceptance”: Exploring autistic adults’ social communicative wants, needs, and expectations

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 15:50:00 +0000

An ‘autistic communicative style’? Exploring autistic people’s social communication preferences

Sun, 01 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Investigating the accuracy of people’s judgements about social dyads’ autistic diagnostic status from videos of social interaction

Sun, 01 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

‘I was brought up in an NT-speaking household’: autistic perspectives on autistic communication

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 12:30:00 +0000