Autistic hypersensitivities are part of it, as they can make the world overwhelming to the point of distress.

But also, our communication styles bring difficulties with fitting in, and that onus gets placed firmly on our shoulders and ours alone.

2/10

It's usually seen as a matter of autistic deficit.

But research on the double empathy problem suggests something more relational.

Difficulties in understanding often arise across neurotypes - so not just on one side.

3/10

So the mismatch is also shaped by power.

Non-autistic communication is treated as the norm, and as more credible. And autistic people are left carrying the burden of adjustment.

4/10

This, of course, brings us to epistemic injustice.

Autistic people’s accounts of their own experience are often given less weight, or not properly recognised at all.

Over time, that can contribute to shame, self-hate, and associated mental health difficulties.

5/10

Then there's the sensory intensity experienced by so many autistic people, which can lead to real distress, especially in certain environments.

It can feel almost as though the middle range of our ‘feeling and experiencing’ dial has been taken out.

6/10

Autism often involves this hyper–hypo pattern; very intense experience in some areas, and very reduced experience in others.

But hypo-responsiveness can at times be a response to feeling too much, and (instinctively, as a survival mechanism) withdrawing in self-defence.

7/10

There are theories that speak to this.

The ‘Intense World Theory’ points to heightened sensitivity and reactivity; and many autistic people will recognise something in that immediately.

8/10