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Chapter 26: Autistic, Hysteric: Inequity in Health Care for Autistic People Assigned Female at Birth in the United Kingdom

Gemma Williams Orcid Logo, Dr Rebecca Ellis Orcid Logo, Harriet Axbey Orcid Logo, Aimee Grant Orcid Logo

The Double Empathy Reader

Swansea University Authors: Dr Rebecca Ellis Orcid Logo, Harriet Axbey Orcid Logo, Aimee Grant Orcid Logo

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Abstract

When the Double Empathy Problem affects communication with medical professionals, theconsequences can be dire. This is evidenced by the significantly reduced life expectancy of Autistic people compared to our non-Autistic peers and the far poorer physical and mental health we experience on almost ev...

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Published in: The Double Empathy Reader
ISBN: 9781803882956
Published: Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd 2025
Online Access: https://pavpub.com/health-and-social-care/health-autism/the-double-empathy-reader?srsltid=AfmBOoqlkYQ6_iZUUet8y-wanlKBwl6vp0k4oPiaJqnhna3HzM-OaPVO
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69667
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spelling 2025-07-28T15:50:37.8072450 v2 69667 2025-06-10 Chapter 26: Autistic, Hysteric: Inequity in Health Care for Autistic People Assigned Female at Birth in the United Kingdom 8ea1fbb848d05d2f0262c6d03cfc9698 0000-0002-7761-468X Dr Rebecca Ellis Dr Rebecca Ellis true false 42158de5f585acc7ef2c41ef583d83e1 0000-0002-1782-3930 Harriet Axbey Harriet Axbey true false 6a1ce3bc54c692c804e858b70d2e4bd2 0000-0001-7205-5869 Aimee Grant Aimee Grant true false 2025-06-10 HSOC When the Double Empathy Problem affects communication with medical professionals, theconsequences can be dire. This is evidenced by the significantly reduced life expectancy of Autistic people compared to our non-Autistic peers and the far poorer physical and mental health we experience on almost every metric. At the same time, people assigned female at birth (AFAB) are known to experience a ‘gender health gap’ in modern medicine. We consider this to be at least in part due to centuries of medical misogyny, where much of what ailed women was attributed to ‘hysteria’ and their reproductive organs. These days, women in the UK have longer life expectancies than men but spend more of their life in poor health or chronic pain with conditions left undiagnosed for longer. This is particularly pronounced within the specialisms of gynaecological and reproductive care. For those from racialized and additionally minoritized groups, the health gap is even greater. In this chapter we – a collective of Autistic AFAB researchers from the UK – explore how the Double Empathy Problem intersects with structural misogyny within health care, leading to dangerously inadequate services for Autistic AFAB people and an urgent need for more research. Book chapter The Double Empathy Reader Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd 9781803882956 9 6 2025 2025-06-09 https://pavpub.com/health-and-social-care/health-autism/the-double-empathy-reader?srsltid=AfmBOoqlkYQ6_iZUUet8y-wanlKBwl6vp0k4oPiaJqnhna3HzM-OaPVO COLLEGE NANME Health and Social Care School COLLEGE CODE HSOC Swansea University External research funder(s) paid the OA fee (includes OA grants disbursed by the Library) Wellcome Trust (225274_Z_22_Z ) 2025-07-28T15:50:37.8072450 2025-06-10T10:16:07.6950021 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Health and Social Care - Public Health Gemma Williams https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5162-0440 1 Dr Rebecca Ellis 0000-0002-7761-468X 2 Harriet Axbey 0000-0002-1782-3930 3 Aimee Grant 0000-0001-7205-5869 4 69667__34448__2180cc71fe114c99aacaa48063c6f1e2.pdf Milton_Double_Empathy_Reader_Chapter_26_-_open_access_PDF.pdf 2025-06-10T12:30:54.4625169 Output 198588 application/pdf Version of Record true Released under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND) license. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.en
title Chapter 26: Autistic, Hysteric: Inequity in Health Care for Autistic People Assigned Female at Birth in the United Kingdom
spellingShingle Chapter 26: Autistic, Hysteric: Inequity in Health Care for Autistic People Assigned Female at Birth in the United Kingdom
Dr Rebecca Ellis
Harriet Axbey
Aimee Grant
title_short Chapter 26: Autistic, Hysteric: Inequity in Health Care for Autistic People Assigned Female at Birth in the United Kingdom
title_full Chapter 26: Autistic, Hysteric: Inequity in Health Care for Autistic People Assigned Female at Birth in the United Kingdom
title_fullStr Chapter 26: Autistic, Hysteric: Inequity in Health Care for Autistic People Assigned Female at Birth in the United Kingdom
title_full_unstemmed Chapter 26: Autistic, Hysteric: Inequity in Health Care for Autistic People Assigned Female at Birth in the United Kingdom
title_sort Chapter 26: Autistic, Hysteric: Inequity in Health Care for Autistic People Assigned Female at Birth in the United Kingdom
author_id_str_mv 8ea1fbb848d05d2f0262c6d03cfc9698
42158de5f585acc7ef2c41ef583d83e1
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author_id_fullname_str_mv 8ea1fbb848d05d2f0262c6d03cfc9698_***_Dr Rebecca Ellis
42158de5f585acc7ef2c41ef583d83e1_***_Harriet Axbey
6a1ce3bc54c692c804e858b70d2e4bd2_***_Aimee Grant
author Dr Rebecca Ellis
Harriet Axbey
Aimee Grant
author2 Gemma Williams
Dr Rebecca Ellis
Harriet Axbey
Aimee Grant
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container_title The Double Empathy Reader
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
isbn 9781803882956
publisher Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str School of Health and Social Care - Public Health{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Health and Social Care - Public Health
url https://pavpub.com/health-and-social-care/health-autism/the-double-empathy-reader?srsltid=AfmBOoqlkYQ6_iZUUet8y-wanlKBwl6vp0k4oPiaJqnhna3HzM-OaPVO
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description When the Double Empathy Problem affects communication with medical professionals, theconsequences can be dire. This is evidenced by the significantly reduced life expectancy of Autistic people compared to our non-Autistic peers and the far poorer physical and mental health we experience on almost every metric. At the same time, people assigned female at birth (AFAB) are known to experience a ‘gender health gap’ in modern medicine. We consider this to be at least in part due to centuries of medical misogyny, where much of what ailed women was attributed to ‘hysteria’ and their reproductive organs. These days, women in the UK have longer life expectancies than men but spend more of their life in poor health or chronic pain with conditions left undiagnosed for longer. This is particularly pronounced within the specialisms of gynaecological and reproductive care. For those from racialized and additionally minoritized groups, the health gap is even greater. In this chapter we – a collective of Autistic AFAB researchers from the UK – explore how the Double Empathy Problem intersects with structural misogyny within health care, leading to dangerously inadequate services for Autistic AFAB people and an urgent need for more research.
published_date 2025-06-09T15:31:47Z
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