Proneness to Self-Conscious Emotions in Adults With and Without Autism Traits.

Davidson et al. (2017) asked adults with and without autism traits to fill out questionnaires about shame, guilt, and pride.

They also tested theory-of-mind skills and fear of negative evaluation to see what explains any group differences.

Adults with more autism traits said they feel shame more often and guilt or pride less often than neurotypical peers.

Poorer theory-of-mind and higher fear of being judged predicted these emotion patterns.

Davidson et al. (2025) later looked at children and found autistic kids talk about guilt and embarrassment less and leave out social details.

Together the two studies show the emotion gap starts young and stays into adulthood.

Thomas et al. (2021) found autistic youth draw almost identical body maps for different emotions, hinting that both bodily and social nuance are muted.

Lo et al. (2021) link higher anxiety in autistic adults to weaker brain connectivity, supporting the idea that social-emotional circuits are wired differently.

If a client avoids eye contact or compliance drops after correction, screen for shame proneness and fear of judgment.

Add simple theory-of-mind checks and body-based emotion drills to your plan.

Targeting these pieces early may lower later social anxiety.