Damian Milton

Damian Elgin Maclean Milton (born August 1973 ) is a British sociologist and social psychologist who specialises in autism research and is an autism rights advocate. He is a lecturer at the University of Kent as well as a consultant for the United Kingdom's National Autistic Society and has academic qualifications in sociology, psychology, philosophy, and education.

Milton's interest in autism began when his son was diagnosed as autistic in 2005 at two years old. Milton himself was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in 2009 at the age of 36.

Milton is best known for his "double empathy problem" theory first published in 2012, While the concept had existed in earlier discourse, dating back to arguments voiced by activists like Jim Sinclair since the 1990s, Milton named and significantly expanded on it. and many of his publications deconstruct and critically analyse past theories. For example, he has argued that self-stimulatory behavior (stimming) should be viewed positively and may help autistic people achieve flow states. His work has been favourably received by the academic as well as the autistic community.

He has spoken out against the Spectrum 10K project, questioning whether it truly was contributing to the well-being of autistic people.

Selected works Journal articles 2012: On the ontological status of autism: the 'double empathy problem''' 2013: Autistics speak but are they heard? 2014: Autistic expertise: A critical reflection on the production of knowledge in autism studies 2016: How is a sense of well-being and belonging constructed in the accounts of autistic adults? 2018: Making the future together: Shaping autism research through meaningful participation 2018: Redefining Critical Autism Studies: a more inclusive interpretation

Books