Enter the Wild: Autistic Traits and Their Relationship to Mentalizing and Social Interaction in Everyday Life.

Researchers gave the adults a phone app. The app buzzed them eight times a day for one week.

Each buzz asked, "Are you thinking about what someone else is thinking right now?" It also logged how many texts and social-media posts they sent.

People also filled out a short autism-trait survey. No lab tasks, no clinic visits—just real life.

Folks rarely thought about others’ thoughts—only about 7 % of the buzzes.

Higher autism-trait scores linked to fewer text messages. Yet social-media posts stayed the same.

In short: more traits, less direct phone talk, but equal online sharing.

Perrot et al. (2021) extends this finding. They recorded free speech and found autistic adults say fewer mental-state words like "wonder" or "believe." Both studies show mentalizing drops in daily life, just measured two ways—phone pings versus spoken words.

Palka Bayard de Volo et al. (2021) also extends the picture. They gave implied-meaning tests and saw autistic adults miss hidden messages. Tobias shows the same group texts less; C shows why—they may avoid unclear, implied chatter.

Lefevre et al. (2020) looks contradictory at first. They link low sociability to brain serotonin in autistic men, not to phone use. Different method—brain scan versus pocket tech—so the results sit side-by-side, not against each other.

You can copy the buzzer method. Set up a simple text poll asking clients, "Are you thinking about someone’s thoughts right now?" Track replies for a weekend. You will see when and where social thinking happens, then plan practice right there. Quick data, no clinic time.