Petit N, Geoffray-Cassar MM, Piccolo P, Jurek L
Autism . 2026 Jun 9:13623613261452693
PMID: 42265894
ABSTRACT
In line with the neurodiversity paradigm, the social difficulties experienced by autistic individuals are increasingly seen as the result of a mutual misunderstanding across different neurotypes, rather than deficits inherent to autistic individuals. This underscores the need to design inclusive spaces and educate people about autism, which remains a challenge. Previous qualitative evidence suggests that neurodiverse choir experiences may provide an opportunity to address this challenge. In this study, 12 adult choristers participated in a 6-month choir practice alongside eight autistic adolescents and three autism specialists. We assessed whether their representation of autism evolved, using a set of questionnaires before and after participation. The results indicate that participants' representations of autism became richer, more accurate, and more aligned with a difference rather than a deficit model. Participants felt more able and inclined to interact with other neurodivergent individuals after sharing this experience. Although preliminary, these findings lend support to the neurodiversity paradigm and offer promising perspectives for addressing the double empathy problem. They highlight the importance of designing inclusive spaces within our societies and illustrate how choral singing may be a particular tool to foster inclusion.Lay AbstractA choir is a powerful metaphor for a successful neurodiverse society, in which achievement stems from blending together voices that are different, rather than from everyone singing the same line in the same way. This study explores a real-life example of this metaphor: a neurodiverse choir composed of 12 adult choristers, 8 autistic adolescents, and 3 professionals specialized in autism. The choir rehearsed for 6 months and then performed a few shows under the direction of a professional choir director. More specifically, we tracked the experience of the 12 adult choristers, using a set of questionnaires before and after their participation in the choir. Consistent with previous qualitative evidence, the results demonstrate a measurable shift in their representation of autism: they understood it better and perceived it more as a neutral difference (from typical development) than a deficit. After participating in this choir, the choristers also felt more able and more inclined to interact with other neurodivergent individuals. These findings lend support to the neurodiversity paradigm, which values autism as a set of natural variations in human neurocognitive functioning. In this view, the social difficulties encountered by autistic individuals can be considered the result of a mutual misunderstanding between autistic and non-autistic people, a problem known as the "double empathy problem." Our results show that the choristers tended to naturally embrace this view. Thus, this preliminary study provides a promising perspective to address this problem, using choral singing as a natural "double empathy solution." More generally, this exemplifies the importance of designing inclusive spaces within our societies.
