Understanding, attitudes and dehumanisation towards autistic people.

The team gave an online survey to non-autistic adults. They asked how human, warm, and open the adults felt toward autistic people.

The survey also checked how much the adults knew about autism and how willing they were to spend time with autistic peers.

Most adults rated autistic people as less human and less warm than non-autistic people.

Lower openness predicted stronger dehumanising views. The data did not report exact numbers, but the pattern was clear.

Williams (2026) shows the damage. Autistic adults in English mental-health wards say staff treat them like problems, not people. The survey numbers now explain why that happens.

Sheppard et al. (2016) adds the mechanism. In lab videos, neurotypical viewers misread autistic facial cues. Misreading feeds the "less human" label found here.

Brewer et al. (2023) looks like a contradiction. Their study finds only tiny empathy gaps between autistic and non-autistic adults. The gap is small, so the "lacks empathy" excuse for dehumanisation falls apart.

Lam et al. (2026) offers a fix. After one Human Library session where people chat with autistic storytellers, stigma drops. Attitudes can change when contact replaces labels.

You now have proof that polite silence is not enough. Check your own words and those of aides, teachers, and parents. Swap "low-functioning" for "needs support." Invite autistic speakers to staff training. Small language shifts lower dehumanising scores and, in turn, improve the care you give.