Exploring the different cognitive, emotional and imaginative experiences of autistic and non-autistic adult readers when contemplating serious literature as compared to non-fiction.

Introduction: Recent research has demonstrated how reflections on serious literature can challenge dominant social-deficit views of autism. This method enables autistic readers to explore social realities more slowly and carefully, encouraging detail-focused considerations. Previous research has also shown that autistic and non-autistic readers reflecting on serious literature together are able to achieve mutuality in a way that enables them to overcome the double empathy problem. However, the advantages of reading aloud designs have yet to be explored with autistic and non-autistic readers due to previous concerns amongst autistic people on the issue of being read aloud to. The present study aimed to explore how an adapted shared reading design that compared serious literature and non-fiction would enable autistic and non-autistic readers to imaginatively engage in the reading experience. Methods: Seven autistic and six non-autistic participants read 8 short text extracts alone while listening to pre-recorded audio of an experienced reader reading each text aloud. Participants completed a reflective questionnaire for each text and a follow-up interview where moving parts of the text were then re-read aloud before discussion. Half of these texts were serious literature, while the other half were non-fiction. Similarly, half of the texts explored fictional social realities that depicted a lack of mutuality, or non-fiction accounts of autism; while the other half explored broader emotional experiences. Results: Thematic and literary analysis of participant reflections and follow-up interviews revealed three main themes: (1) From Surface Reading to Intuitive Engagement, (2) Imaginative Feeling and (3) Going Forward from the Reading Experience. Discussion: The findings showed that autistic readers were better able to hold onto the detailed complexity of serious literature, while non-autistic readers tended to reduce information down to key ideas and understandings for later generalization. Findings are discussed in relation to future shared reading designs.

Back to live: Returning to in-person engagement with arts and culture in the Liverpool City Region.

On July 19th 2021, the UK government lifted the COVID-19 restrictions that had been in place since March 2020, including wearing masks, social distancing, and all other legal requirements. The return to in-person events has been slow and gradual, showing that audiences are still cautious when (and if) they resume engaging in arts and culture. Patterns of audience behavior have also changed, shifting toward local attendance, greater digital and hybrid engagement, and openness to event format changes. As the arts and cultural industry recovers from the pandemic, it is important to adopt an audience-oriented approach and look at the changing patterns of engaging in arts and culture. This study aims to better understand the impact of the pandemic on the patterns of cultural and arts engagement. Eight qualitative interviews were conducted to explore the changes in arts and cultural engagement since the restrictions were lifted, focusing particularly on the audience's experiences of returning to in-person arts and cultural events in the Liverpool City Region (LCR). Using framework analysis, three themes were identified from the data: The new normal: reframing pre-pandemic and pandemic experiences of arts and culture, Re-adjusting to in-person provision, and Moving forward: online and blended provision. The findings show that the pandemic altered the ways that people engage in arts and culture. The "new normal," a blend of pandemic and pre-pandemic experiences, illustrates how the pandemic has highlighted and reconfigured the importance of arts and culture, in terms of personal and cultural identity. Resuming in-person engagement after a long break, participants noted that they were able to feel more like themselves again. Arts and culture were perceived to be beneficial in rebuilding personal resilience and confidence. Engaging in arts and culture, following the isolating experience of the pandemic, has also helped participants feel reconnected to others through their shared experiences. Finally, the findings suggest that online provision remains vital for many, ensuring wider inclusivity, particularly for vulnerable audiences. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge the barriers to online inclusion and the possibility of this resulting in a growing digital divide.

Lifting lockdown: Renewed access to arts and cultural activities.

BACKGROUND: The effects of COVID-19 on mental health are profound. While there is a growing body of evidence on arts supporting mental health, the re-engagement with in-person arts and cultural activity has remained slow following the lifting of restrictions. METHODS: Interviews with 14 representatives, including providers and practitioners, from 12 arts and cultural organisations within the Liverpool City Region (LCR) were conducted. The aim was to examine the impact of COVID-19 restrictions easing on arts and cultural provision in the LCR, and on the mental health and wellbeing of those whom arts and cultural organisations serve, including those who would usually access arts through formal healthcare routes (e.g., those usually served via arts organisations' partnership with health or social care providers). Data were analysed using framework analysis. RESULTS: Three overarching themes were identified: The new normal: 'Out of crisis comes innovation'; Complexities of operating 'in the new COVID world'; and Reimagining arts in mental healthcare. CONCLUSION: As engagement in community and cultural activities plays a public health role, a hybrid delivery of arts and culture - ensuring continued online access alongside in-person provision - will be vital for people's recovery. Alongside efforts to reimagine arts in mental healthcare in the wake of the crisis caused by the pandemic, the role of arts and culture in providing stigma-free environments to reconnect the vulnerable and isolated is more critical than ever. Recommendations on the role of arts and culture in sustaining the mental health and wellbeing of the population and embedding the arts within clinical care and public health prevention schemes are provided.

Challenging Empathic Deficit Models of Autism Through Responses to Serious Literature.

Dominant theoretical models of autism and resultant research enquiries have long centered upon an assumed autism-specific empathy deficit. Associated empirical research has largely relied upon cognitive tests that lack ecological validity and associate empathic skill with heuristic-based judgments from limited snapshots of social information. This artificial separation of thought and feeling fails to replicate the complexity of real-world empathy, and places socially tentative individuals at a relative disadvantage. The present study aimed to qualitatively explore how serious literary fiction, through its ability to simulate real-world empathic response, could therefore enable more ecologically valid insights into the comparative empathic experiences of autistic and non-autistic individuals. Eight autistic and seven non-autistic participants read Of Mice and Men for six days while completing a semi-structured reflective diary. On finishing the book, participants were asked to engage in three creative writing tasks that encouraged reflective thinking across the novel. Thematic and literary analysis of the diary reflections and writing tasks revealed three main themes (1) Distance from the Novel; (2) Mobility of Response; (3) Re-Creating Literature. Findings demonstrated the usefulness of serious literature as a research tool for comparing the empathic experiences of autistic and non-autistic individuals. Specifically, autistic individuals often showed enhanced socio-empathic understandings of the literature with no empathy deficits when compared to non-autistic participants.

Come together: The importance of arts and cultural engagement within the Liverpool City Region throughout the COVID-19 lockdown periods.

Introduction: Arts and cultural engagement activities have long been found to support wellbeing within the general population. In particular, community arts and cultural involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic have been an invaluable source of mental health and wellbeing support for many individuals across the globe. The initial move to remote engagement following the first United Kingdom lockdown demonstrated the importance of hybrid provisions, with isolated and vulnerable individuals finding online provisions important for wellbeing. With restrictions on movement and service access in the United Kingdom having gradually eased from March 2021, it is now important to explore how individuals navigated the ability to engage with either remote or in-person provisions. The current study aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on arts and cultural engagement during periods of restrictions and initial easings on movement within the Liverpool City Region. Method: The study consisted of two waves of qualitative interviews within a broader longitudinal study. Twelve interviews were conducted during wave 1, which aimed to capture data during the initial COVID-19 lockdown period and the initial easing of restrictions. Eight of these participants were interviewed again for wave 2, which aimed to capture data during the winter 2020 lockdown period. Results: Framework analysis revealed three overarching themes: (1) The Importance of Arts and Culture for Personal Enrichment, (2) Belongingness through Socialization, and (3) Transitioning and Adjusting Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic. Discussion: Findings presented in the current study provide further evidence of the value of arts and cultural activities in supporting wellbeing. Specifically, the current data emphasize the value of arts and cultural engagement throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and particularly during times of national restriction. Furthermore, the current study demonstrated that remote engagement provided important wellbeing support throughout the pandemic in a way that protected against mental health consequences, but with limitations on feelings of social connectedness within online environments. Amidst continuing risks from the COVID-19 virus and feelings of uncertainty, this study highlights the importance of hybrid provisions.

Overcoming the Double Empathy Problem Within Pairs of Autistic and Non-autistic Adults Through the Contemplation of Serious Literature.

Recent research based on the needs of the autistic community has explored the frequent social misunderstandings that arise between autistic and non-autistic people, known as the double empathy problem. Double empathy understandings require both groups to respect neurodiversity by focussing on individuality across groups. This study aimed to explore how literature, through its ability to uncover nuanced emotional response differences between readers, could facilitate double empathy understandings within pairs of autistic and non-autistic adults. A longitudinal, qualitative design was used, with 4 gender-matched pairs. Participants read Of Mice and Men for 1 week, whilst completing a structured, reflective diary. This was followed by 4 one-hour paired reading sessions, where pairs discussed the book and their reflections in depth. Participants were then invited to a final one-on-one interview to discuss their thoughts and experiences of the paired reading sessions. Thematic and literary analysis of the session and interview data revealed four themes (1) The Book as Social Oil; (2) From a World of Difference to a World of Affinity; (3) Emotional Intelligence: From Thinking About to Feeling with; and (4) From Overwhelming to Overcoming. All participants reported having achieved an individualised view of one another to explore their nuanced differences. The non-autistic group reported a more sensitive understanding of what it means to be autistic, while the autistic group overcame concerns about non-autistic people stereotyping autism, and instead reported feeling valued and accommodated by their non-autistic partners.

Commentary: Considering nomenclature for autism - aligning with the language preferences of the autistic community - a commentary on Kehinde et al. (2021).

Since the implementation of 'autism' as a diagnosable condition in the 1980s, the medical model has continued to dominate how we understand autism. More recently, there has been a rise in understanding autism through the neurodiversity model and the lived experiences of autistic people themselves. However, there is often misalignment between the medical model and the preferences of the autistic community. In particular, there are misalignments around the language we use in society to discuss autism and autistic people. Language misalignments are particularly important, with language playing an important role in conveying understandings of a group within society. This article highlights these nomenclature misalignments, focussing on (1) Asperger syndrome, (2) functioning labels, (3) severity assumptions, (4) the language of disorder and (5) identity-first compared to person-first language. The article discusses the difficulties that might present in healthcare settings as a result of these misalignments.

An analysis of the reading habits of autistic adults compared to neurotypical adults and implications for future interventions.

BACKGROUND: While research has consistently highlighted the usefulness of narrative texts for social development, this has not been fully explored with autistic adults. It has long been assumed that autistic individuals lack the social understanding to contemplate fiction, preferring non-fiction. This study aimed to explore the self-reported reading habits of autistic adults compared to neurotypical adults, accounting for higher education demands. METHODS: A qualitative design was used, with 43 participants (22 autistic; 21 neurotypical) completing a reading habits questionnaire and subsequent semi-structured interview. RESULTS: Neurotypical participants tended to prefer fiction, with autistic participants showing no preference between fiction and non-fiction. Four themes were identified from interview data (1) reading material choices; (2) text investment; (3) in-text social understanding; and (4) reading as a social learning device. Both groups reported evidence of empathising, perspective-taking and social understanding while reading. The autistic group additionally reported social learning outcomes from reading. DISCUSSION: Findings contradict prior assumptions that autistic individuals lack the social understanding required by fiction. Instead, findings show that social benefits of narrative texts extend to autistic readers, providing important social learning experiences.