Project description

Some people say that autistic individuals lack empathy. But is this really the case? To answer this question, the first part of this thesis consisted of a meta-analysis on empathy in autism. This meta-analysis shows that autistic individuals have difficulties with cognitive empathy (i.e., the ability to understand another person’s emotions), but that there is little difference between autistic and typical individuals in terms of affective empathy (i.e., the ability to share another person’s emotions). In addition, the results were greatly influenced by the measure used to assess empathy.

Considering these findings and some of the gaps in the literature, the second part of this thesis aims to investigate shared emotions in preschool autistic children. More specifically, the goals of this study will be 1) to document the emotional reactions of autistic children while they complete the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), a standardized observation tool used to diagnose autism, 2) to identify the activities of the ADOS that promote or hinder emotional sharing in autistic children, and 3) to determine whether it is possible to differentiate autistic children from children for whom a diagnosis of autism has been ruled out on the basis of the emotional responses observed during the ADOS and emotional sharing. To this end, preschoolers will be videotaped (with parental permission) while they complete the ADOS during their diagnostic assessment. Then, the videos collected will be coded and analyzed to meet the goals of this study.  

This thesis will provide a better understanding of empathy and emotional sharing in autistic individuals. In addition, it will identify associations between emotional sharing and specific activities of the ADOS that are unique to autistic children, which could become diagnostic signs. Thus, this project will help improve the diagnosis of autism.