A growing body of research highlights the extensive prevalence of eating disorders (EDs) in Autistic people. Co-occurrence of EDs and autism is significant, ranging between 2%-53%, and research exploring the intersection between autism and EDs reports that multiple factors associated with the development, maintenance and recovery from an ED manifest significantly differently in Autistic individuals. For instance, lived-experience-led research highlights that an ED can often serve as a regulatory strategy or as a social acceptance strategy for Autistic people.

Expectations for Autistic people to successfully recover from an ED via neurotypical clinical frameworks has contributed to misunderstanding between lived experience communities and professionals, and even iatrogenic harm. Limited research has explored Autistic traits as both barriers and facilitators to ED recovery or the impact of early experiences as an Autistic person on ED development, which could serve to improve existing recovery paradigms and subsequent ED treatment outcomes for this community.

Current understanding of autism and ED co-occurrence and the ability for services to support this community is limited, lending towards Autistic people with EDs feeling as though they have ‘fallen through the cracks’ of clinical support systems. Indeed, neither the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) and National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) can make clinical recommendations to support Autistic individuals with EDs. As such, the goal of this Research Topic is to conduct research aiming to improve current understanding of co-occurring autism and EDs, such as what factors contribute towards increased susceptibility to ED development, as well as what mechanisms are differentially implicated across ED trajectories for Autistic people. Importantly, the application of multidisciplinary research approaches and inclusion of the lived-experience lens are paramount to the development of impactful, ethical and autism-affirming ED research.

Studies solicited for this Research Topic will include those embracing a neuro-affirming framework of autism, which views autism as a distinct ‘neurotype’ with unique strengths and disadvantages relative to a deficit-only based medical condition. We kindly ask that submissions review established language guidelines to remain autism-affirming in use of terminology and provide evidence-based rationales for decisions on language use: https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2020.0014; https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221142383

As part of this research topic, we are interested in research focusing on autism and eating disorders irrespective of research discipline. All article types offered by Frontiers (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/for-authors/article-types) are welcome for this research topic. Research utilizing co-production or participatory research approaches are highly encouraged and will be prioritized. Research viewing autism through a medicalized model will not be considered eligible for this research topic.

Important areas of interest for this research topic are as follows:
• The impact and experience of a late autism diagnosis on the development of eating disorders
• Barriers and facilitators to ED recovery for Autistic people
• Unique or different ED trajectories (development, maintenance, recovery) for Autistic people relative to non-Autistic people
• Biological processes associated with EDs in Autistic people
• Feasibility studies or trials approaching novel, personalized and evidence-based forms of ED recovery for Autistic people

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Bridging the Knowledge Gap: Eating Disorders and Autism

Topic Coordinator