Meanings
- uncountablehuman sciencesThe phenomenon of autistic and nonautistic people mutually failing to understand each other due to cognitive differences in expressing and processing emotion.
Rather, such difficulties are reciprocal, so a 'double empathy' problem exists.
2020, Karen Guldberg, Developing Excellence in Autism Practice: Making a Difference in Education, unnumbered page2 more examples
Autistic people's difficulties with communication combined with the 'double empathy problem' can lead to assumptions being made by staff about the people they are teaching or supporting.
2018, Michael James, Forest School and Autism: A Practical Guide, page 37In contrast to the old (and disproven) idea of autistic people lacking empathy, the double empathy problem suggests that non-autistic people often lack empathy towards autistic people, and this might be the cause of many difficulties experienced by autistic people.
2021, Felicity Sedgewick, Laura Hull, Helen Ellis, Autism and Masking: How and Why People Do It, and the Impact It Can Have, page 163
Origin
Coined by autism researcher Damian E. M. Milton in 2012 in a journal article.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
double empathy problem. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/double%20empathy%20problem
“double empathy problem.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/double%20empathy%20problem. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “double empathy problem,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/double%20empathy%20problem.
Source: double empathy problem on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.