Michelle Dawson
@autismcrisis.bsky.social
off-message autistic researcher
Factors associated with types of self-injury in autistics aged 3-19?--"The main finding was that distress associated with disruptions to routines was the strongest predictor of all types of self-injurious behavior"? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... note: everything here is parent-reported
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December 9, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Factors associated with types of self-injury in autistics aged 3-19?--"The main finding was that distress associated with disruptions to routines was the strongest predictor of all types of self-injurious behavior"? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... note: everything here is parent-reported
Registered: "How do autistic people describe their experiences of meltdowns, shutdowns, and burnout?" "What similarities and differences do autistic people describe about the experience of meltdowns, shutdowns and burnout?" www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/vie... qualitative systematic review
PROSPERO
PROSPERO
www.crd.york.ac.uk
December 8, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Registered: "How do autistic people describe their experiences of meltdowns, shutdowns, and burnout?" "What similarities and differences do autistic people describe about the experience of meltdowns, shutdowns and burnout?" www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/vie... qualitative systematic review
Self-compassion in autism? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... autistics experience "stigma and victimization... much more than non-autistic people" ergo "relational factors may play a more significant role than individual-specific factors such as cognitive-affective attitude toward oneself"
Understanding Self‐Compassion in Autistic Adults: Validity Evidence and Its Links to Loneliness and Depression Across Autistic and Non‐Autistic Individuals
Autistic adults face higher rates of loneliness and depression than non-autistic adults. Self-compassion may offer a protective buffer against mental health difficulties, but its measurement validity...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 7, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Self-compassion in autism? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... autistics experience "stigma and victimization... much more than non-autistic people" ergo "relational factors may play a more significant role than individual-specific factors such as cognitive-affective attitude toward oneself"
Mixed methods in ABA? "Adding qualitative approaches to a single-case experimental design may further individualize the numerical data by offering a richer understanding of the personal experiences of people who receive ABA services and supports"? link.springer.com/article/10.1... autism-relevant
A Coherent Investigation or a “Dog’s Breakfast”? Exploring the Integration of Qualitative Inquiry and Behavior Analysis Through Mixed Methods Research - Behavior Analysis in Practice
Emerging literature indicates the promise of incorporating qualitative inquiry with traditional behavior-analytic work. Specifically, the potential for mixed methods research in behavior analysis coul...
link.springer.com
December 6, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Mixed methods in ABA? "Adding qualitative approaches to a single-case experimental design may further individualize the numerical data by offering a richer understanding of the personal experiences of people who receive ABA services and supports"? link.springer.com/article/10.1... autism-relevant
Driver's license status vs travel patterns in autistics? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... "Regardless of licensure status, most autistic young adults reported not traveling everywhere they wanted to go; nearly 80% appear to be interested in a transportation modality they did not currently use"
Autistic young adults’ routine travel pre- and post-license - Emma B Sartin, Lauren O’Malley, Alexis Z Tomlinson, Laura Bennett, Rachel K Myers, Kristina B Metzger, Haley J Bishop, Benjamin E Yerys, A...
Compared with their non-licensed peers, licensed autistic adults appear to report more positive outcomes in objective measures of quality of life, particularly ...
journals.sagepub.com
December 5, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Driver's license status vs travel patterns in autistics? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... "Regardless of licensure status, most autistic young adults reported not traveling everywhere they wanted to go; nearly 80% appear to be interested in a transportation modality they did not currently use"
"a small elephant or an elephant missing a leg is not less of an elephant than a large, healthy elephant, and a rhinoceros is not a horned fraction of elephant-ness. Autistic-ness is not a continuous variable" journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... argument against autism as dimension & spectrum, free
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December 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM
"a small elephant or an elephant missing a leg is not less of an elephant than a large, healthy elephant, and a rhinoceros is not a horned fraction of elephant-ness. Autistic-ness is not a continuous variable" journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... argument against autism as dimension & spectrum, free
"profound autism" now means "IQ or DQ ≤50, minimal verbal skills, and adaptive functioning ≤70"? link.springer.com/article/10.1... 25.9% (N=121/468) of autistics under age 8 "were classified as ‘at risk of profound autism’"?--vs only 2.2% (N=1/45) age 8-16 who "met criteria for profound autism"?
Clinical Features of Children at Risk of Profound Autism - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Purpose The concept of profound autism was coined in 2021 to better describe and understand the needs of autistic people with low cognitive and adaptive functioning skills and limited verbal communica...
link.springer.com
December 3, 2025 at 12:01 PM
"profound autism" now means "IQ or DQ ≤50, minimal verbal skills, and adaptive functioning ≤70"? link.springer.com/article/10.1... 25.9% (N=121/468) of autistics under age 8 "were classified as ‘at risk of profound autism’"?--vs only 2.2% (N=1/45) age 8-16 who "met criteria for profound autism"?
To study data collection, behavior analysts conduct unethical functional analyses that cause autistics to repeatedly hit themselves--e.g., one autistic hit his head >2000 times? (see Fig 3, self-hitting was blocked only "when it exceeded 10s") journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... this is ABA in 2025
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
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journals.sagepub.com
December 2, 2025 at 12:00 PM
To study data collection, behavior analysts conduct unethical functional analyses that cause autistics to repeatedly hit themselves--e.g., one autistic hit his head >2000 times? (see Fig 3, self-hitting was blocked only "when it exceeded 10s") journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... this is ABA in 2025
Registered: aiming "to synthesise existing evidence on autistic burnout within workplace and educational settings, identifying its defining features, contributing factors, impacts, and potential supports" www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/vie... systematic review of studies published 2015 to the present
PROSPERO
PROSPERO
www.crd.york.ac.uk
December 1, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Registered: aiming "to synthesise existing evidence on autistic burnout within workplace and educational settings, identifying its defining features, contributing factors, impacts, and potential supports" www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/vie... systematic review of studies published 2015 to the present
In which autistic children trying to stop ABA have "low motivation" or "a skill deficit"?--& in which autistics show "problem behavior" when "preferred items were introduced and then removed during instruction as is done during a typical DTT session" link.springer.com/article/10.1... more ABA harms
Training Instructors to Support Assent and Assent Withdrawal During Instruction for Students with Disabilities - Behavior Analysis in Practice
In recent years, there have been calls to action regarding the integration of compassionate care and assent into behavior analytic practice. Assent, in medical and educational interventions, is associ...
link.springer.com
November 30, 2025 at 10:49 AM
In which autistic children trying to stop ABA have "low motivation" or "a skill deficit"?--& in which autistics show "problem behavior" when "preferred items were introduced and then removed during instruction as is done during a typical DTT session" link.springer.com/article/10.1... more ABA harms
"the 'broad autism phenotype' conceptualization is now fading, and the field is moving toward a binary model (autistic or non-autistic)"? "a more transdiagnostic focus would be beneficial for improving treatment models"? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... report on assessing autism in adults
Understanding Barriers to Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism in Adulthood: Where Are We Now and How Do We Move Forward?
Assessment and diagnosis of autism in adulthood is a growing area of interest for both clinical and research practice. In this commentary, we present a thematic analysis following the first Internati...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 29, 2025 at 10:15 AM
"the 'broad autism phenotype' conceptualization is now fading, and the field is moving toward a binary model (autistic or non-autistic)"? "a more transdiagnostic focus would be beneficial for improving treatment models"? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... report on assessing autism in adults
"disparities in ABA services for autistic children"?--authors' poorly-sourced & ill-founded premise is that ABA is beneficial (vs harmful) & more ABA is better (e.g. "ABA is most effective when... delivered at a high intensity") journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... no, not in an ABA journal, free
Short report: Disparities in hours of applied behavior analysis services for Medicaid-enrolled autistic youth - Diondra Straiton-Webster, Brooke Ingersoll, 2025
To date, no studies have investigated whether disparities in hours of applied behavior analysis (ABA) exist in the Medicaid system. We used multilevel modeling ...
journals.sagepub.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:15 AM
"disparities in ABA services for autistic children"?--authors' poorly-sourced & ill-founded premise is that ABA is beneficial (vs harmful) & more ABA is better (e.g. "ABA is most effective when... delivered at a high intensity") journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... no, not in an ABA journal, free
Comparing self-harm & suicidality in autistic vs non-autistic adults aged 40-93 years (mean age 60) link.springer.com/article/10.1... 55% of autistics, vs 13.3% of non-autistics, responded "yes" to the question, "Have you deliberately harmed yourself, whether or not you meant to end your life?"
Self-harm and suicidality experiences of autistic and non-autistic adults in midlife and old age - Molecular Autism
Background Suicide has been reported as a leading cause of premature death in autistic populations. Additionally, risk of suicidality is often found to increase with age in the general population. Des...
link.springer.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Comparing self-harm & suicidality in autistic vs non-autistic adults aged 40-93 years (mean age 60) link.springer.com/article/10.1... 55% of autistics, vs 13.3% of non-autistics, responded "yes" to the question, "Have you deliberately harmed yourself, whether or not you meant to end your life?"
On "autistic people with complex support needs (CSN)"?--"a group of autistic people who are persistently and profoundly disabled"? "there is some controversy over identifying this group of people within the autistic population at all"? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... editorial, free
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journals.sagepub.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:04 AM
On "autistic people with complex support needs (CSN)"?--"a group of autistic people who are persistently and profoundly disabled"? "there is some controversy over identifying this group of people within the autistic population at all"? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... editorial, free
Behavior analysts on autism, ABA, & "ableism"?--promoting ABA as "having contributed to effective instruction, behavior assessment, and intervention strategies designed to meet the highly individualized needs of Autistic people"? link.springer.com/article/10.1... awash in abysmal ABA standards, free
Ableism in Applied Behavior Analysis: Historical Context of Services for Autistic People - Behavior Analysis in Practice
Ableism is broadly defined as a set of behaviors and attitudes or, in behavior-analytic terms, as private events, deeply embedded within societal norms (Friedman & Owen, 2017). This paper explores the...
link.springer.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Behavior analysts on autism, ABA, & "ableism"?--promoting ABA as "having contributed to effective instruction, behavior assessment, and intervention strategies designed to meet the highly individualized needs of Autistic people"? link.springer.com/article/10.1... awash in abysmal ABA standards, free
Registered: in adults, aiming to "compare QoL scores... in neurotypical and neurodivergent populations" & "compare QoL scores... across different neurodivergent individuals (autism, ADHD, specific learning disorders, and Tourette syndrome)" www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/vie... systematic review
PROSPERO
PROSPERO
www.crd.york.ac.uk
November 24, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Registered: in adults, aiming to "compare QoL scores... in neurotypical and neurodivergent populations" & "compare QoL scores... across different neurodivergent individuals (autism, ADHD, specific learning disorders, and Tourette syndrome)" www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/vie... systematic review
"a higher number of co-occurring conditions was associated with a later age of autism... diagnosis"? link.springer.com/article/10.1... "Depression and ADHD were associated with later autism... diagnoses" but "Conversely, earlier autism... diagnosis was linked with intellectual disability and OCD"?
Later Age of Autism Diagnosis in Children with Multiple Co-Occurring Psychiatric Disorders - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Purpose In children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), early diagnosis permits early access to therapeutic interventions which may improve outcomes. Factors affecting the age of diagnosis in ASD are...
link.springer.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:40 AM
"a higher number of co-occurring conditions was associated with a later age of autism... diagnosis"? link.springer.com/article/10.1... "Depression and ADHD were associated with later autism... diagnoses" but "Conversely, earlier autism... diagnosis was linked with intellectual disability and OCD"?
On "imbalance and mismatch between cognitive and emotional empathy" www.cell.com/trends/cogni... "Empathic disequilibrium may be of particular interest in autism since emotional empathy dominance was linked to nonsuicidal self-injury among autistic people, suggesting it may be distressing for some"
Empathic disequilibrium: theoretical implications and clinical relevance
Empathy is central to social cognition, yet efforts to link it with neurodiverse and
clinical conditions have yielded contradictory findings, often reinforcing a deficit-focused
narrative that conflic...
www.cell.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:00 AM
On "imbalance and mismatch between cognitive and emotional empathy" www.cell.com/trends/cogni... "Empathic disequilibrium may be of particular interest in autism since emotional empathy dominance was linked to nonsuicidal self-injury among autistic people, suggesting it may be distressing for some"
Impression management "includes camouflaging" & "reflects a universal human drive"? www.nature.com/articles/s41... "camouflaging, as measured by CAT-Q items derived from autistic people’s lived experiences, converges with the general population’s intention to engage in impression management"?
Intentional use and self-efficacy as distinct facets of impression management and their relationships with socio-motivational, cognitive, and mental health factors - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Intentional use and self-efficacy as distinct facets of impression management and their relationships with socio-motivational, cognitive, and mental health factors
www.nature.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Impression management "includes camouflaging" & "reflects a universal human drive"? www.nature.com/articles/s41... "camouflaging, as measured by CAT-Q items derived from autistic people’s lived experiences, converges with the general population’s intention to engage in impression management"?
ADOS stability in autism baby sibs? e.g. 27% of those who are ADOS negative at 24 months are ADOS positive at 36 months acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... "approximately 60% of those without a clinical best estimate of autism scored above the ADOS autism spectrum cut-off at least once..."
acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:06 AM
ADOS stability in autism baby sibs? e.g. 27% of those who are ADOS negative at 24 months are ADOS positive at 36 months acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... "approximately 60% of those without a clinical best estimate of autism scored above the ADOS autism spectrum cut-off at least once..."
"the term ‘profound Autism’ does not say anything about that person’s support needs, and can imply that those who do not meet the criteria for ‘profound Autism’ cannot be profoundly disabled..."? what criteria? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... neurodiversity terminology online survey, free
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November 19, 2025 at 10:26 AM
"the term ‘profound Autism’ does not say anything about that person’s support needs, and can imply that those who do not meet the criteria for ‘profound Autism’ cannot be profoundly disabled..."? what criteria? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... neurodiversity terminology online survey, free
In autistics (N=1354, age 4-21) "hospitalized in specialized psychiatric units," rate of epilepsy is 18.9%? link.springer.com/article/10.1... in this study, "profound autism" now means "either intellectual disability, minimal verbal communication, or very low adaptive functioning scores"?
Epilepsy in Autism: Prevalence and Associated Factors in a Large Inpatient Psychiatric Sample - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Purpose The co-morbidity of epilepsy in individuals with autism spectrum disorder has been reported as a wide range of 2.4% to 46%. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between epi...
link.springer.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:31 AM
In autistics (N=1354, age 4-21) "hospitalized in specialized psychiatric units," rate of epilepsy is 18.9%? link.springer.com/article/10.1... in this study, "profound autism" now means "either intellectual disability, minimal verbal communication, or very low adaptive functioning scores"?
Registered: in autistics, "What factors at earlier developmental stages are associated with health, social, and economic outcomes at subsequent developmental stages" www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/vie... systematic review, "Studies must include longitudinal data spanning different developmental stages"
PROSPERO
PROSPERO
www.crd.york.ac.uk
November 17, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Registered: in autistics, "What factors at earlier developmental stages are associated with health, social, and economic outcomes at subsequent developmental stages" www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/vie... systematic review, "Studies must include longitudinal data spanning different developmental stages"
In the "Schools Unified in Neurodiversity" (SUN) program, one key strategy (see Table 2) is a "PBIS system"?--but where is the definition/explanation of PBIS here (which elsewhere means ABA)? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... "This project aimed to transform schools for neurodivergent children"?
The Schools Unified in Neurodiversity Collaborative: Co-designing a program to enhance educator knowledge and efficacy supporting children with neurodevelopmental disabilities - Kelly B Beck, Amy Iona...
Autistic and other neurodivergent youth face social, sensory, and environmental challenges at school that negatively impact learning and well-being. Yet, most e...
journals.sagepub.com
November 16, 2025 at 10:24 AM
In the "Schools Unified in Neurodiversity" (SUN) program, one key strategy (see Table 2) is a "PBIS system"?--but where is the definition/explanation of PBIS here (which elsewhere means ABA)? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... "This project aimed to transform schools for neurodivergent children"?
"interventions appear capable of changing attentional patterns in autism" but "it remains uncertain if such changes translate into functional gains in daily social communication, adaptive behavior, or overall quality of life"? what about harms? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... free
Eye Tracking as a Treatment Monitoring Tool for Autism: A Multilevel Meta‐Analysis
There is a growing body of evidence suggesting a concurrent association between attentional indices measured via eye tracking and autism symptoms. This meta-analysis examined the utility of eye track....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 15, 2025 at 10:54 AM
"interventions appear capable of changing attentional patterns in autism" but "it remains uncertain if such changes translate into functional gains in daily social communication, adaptive behavior, or overall quality of life"? what about harms? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... free