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Olivia Guy-Evans

@oliviaguyevans.bsky.social
184 followers 820 following 90 posts

PhD Autism Researcher at University of Birmingham. Masking/camouflaging in education. Autistic Editor and writer for Simplypsychology.org 🧠

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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 16h
Participants needed for my PhD research exploring autistic camouflaging / masking in university students. Please email or scan the QR code to register interest. Please share!
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Reposted by Olivia Guy-Evans
Autistic Realms (Helen Edgar) @autisticrealms.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
“Nothing About Us Without Us”: Why Autistic Voices Are Necessary In Research By Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc March 5, 2026 Reviewed by Saul McLeod, PhD www.simplypsychology.org/inclusive-au...
simplypsychology.org
"Nothing About Us Without Us": Why Autistic Voices Are Necessary In Research
For decades, autistic individuals have been left out of contributing to research that ultimately impacts them. If you are autistic or love someone who is, you may have felt a deep disconnect between w...
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Autistic romantic relationships, just like with neurotypical relationships, are diverse and fluid ❤️
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Fascinating. New research suggests that people who prefer reading right-wing news tend to have more negative views and more inaccurate views about Autism.
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Interesting study looking into how stable or changing camouflaging behaviours are over a 2 year period. It would be interesting to extend this for a longer period of time!
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Incorporating neurodivergent co-production in designing training materials for educators is one of the most effective ways of increasing educator's understanding of neurodiversity.
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
As someone diagnosed at 30, these found themes definitely illustrate the range of emotions experienced at a later diagnosis.
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Reposted by Olivia Guy-Evans
Autism in Adulthood @autisminadulthood.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
A qualitative analysis by @kanabaletti.bsky.social et al found that autistic adults face a conflict between balancing their desire for social connection with their limited energy for engaging in social experiences. FREE until 25th November www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1177/...
liebertpub.com
“Trapped in a No-Win Situation”: A Qualitative Exploration of Autistic Adults’ Experiences of Loneliness | Autism in Adulthood
Background: Loneliness is a major public health concern, affecting individuals’ mental and physical health. Autistic adults self-report higher levels of loneliness compared with non-autistic adults, y...
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
I am reading Dr Devon Price's book "Unmasking for Life" and this sentence stuck with me. This is a good overview of how autistic people who engage in deeper or more ingrained masking might struggle to live authentic lives or form any real relationships. It is therefore important to learn unmasking.
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
New research into how autistic masking can be detrimental to mental health and lead to more identity confusion.
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Reposted by Olivia Guy-Evans
The BMJ @bmj.com · 10/11/2025
New BMJ Research: Existing evidence does not clearly link paracetamol (acetaminophen) use during pregnancy with autism or ADHD in children, finds an in-depth evidence review www.bmj.com/content/391/...
Pregnant woman taking pill
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Interesting new research on how cultural influences such as gender roles can have an influence on autistic camouflaging
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Happy to announce that I will be starting my PhD in psychology (specifically in autistic camouflaging in educational settings) at the University of Birmingham later this year 🤗
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Anyway here's my dog with her big beautiful brown eyes that I love staring into while I avoid the eye contact of everyone else around me 🙃
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
A new but harmful paper on trying different methods to force eye contact in autistic people by encouraging them to engage with a dog. They found that the autistic kids had increased eye contact with the dogs but not with the human therapist. I mean, duh! 😂 www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
frontiersin.org
Frontiers | Enhancing social communication behaviors in children with autism: the impact of dog training intervention on verbal and non-verbal behaviors
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
If you are not letting your autistic child be themselves and only see them as a problem or 'challenging' then you are forcing them to mask. That mask will burn them out one day. We instead need to accommodate to THEIR needs. Not make them accommodate to yours.
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
I did not question that I could be Autistic until I learnt what masking/camouflaging was. This is such a big part of autism and should be taken into consideration when undertaking an Autism assessment
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
I'm coming up on 1 year since my autism diagnosis 🤗 If you received your diagnosis quite recently like me, how do you feel about your autism now? What point are you at?
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
So much of this resonated with me. The last 6 months, I've decided to stop drinking at social events because I realised I was using it to mask my autism and cope. But drinking actually had the opposite effect when the next day I get anxiety about how I acted. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Alcohol masked my autism so well, that nobody noticed it until I got sober
A personal story about how alcohol can be an effective but problematic masking tool for autistic women. Keywords: addiction, autism, drinking, masking, social camouflage, women
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
Any other autistic folk experiencing difficulties during this period between christmas and new year and being out of normal routine? How are you managing?
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
As an autistic person, what factors help most with maintaining your friendships? #ActuallyAutistic
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Research discusses the social benefits of tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons in autistic adults. My overview of the research + a link to the original paper is below: www.simplypsychology.org/tabletop-rol...
simplypsychology.org
Social Benefits Of Tabletop Role-Playing Games For Autistic Adults
Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons can provide social benefits and a safe space for autistic adults to interact and develop relationships.
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
My new article on autistic rumination and exploring the reasons why we may get stuck in unhelpful thoughts. www.simplypsychology.org/autistic-rum...
simplypsychology.org
Autistic Rumination: Why It Happens And How To Manage
Autistic individuals might often find themselves stuck in negative thought loops that are difficult to break out of, also known as rumination.
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Important new paper. #AutismResearch that focuses on brain scans raises questions for me, mostly: how is this going to benefit autistic people? www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/...
liebertpub.com
Ethical Complexities and Concerns Surrounding Magnetic Resonance Imaging and the Open-Access Scientific Framework in Autism Research | Autism in Adulthood
There is an increasing demand for publicly funded research datasets to be made available for the research community. However, there are multiple issues associated with the use of accessible data, part...
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Do any other #ActuallyAutistic folk struggle with rumination/getting stuck in negative thought loops? This is something I find myself in and I assumed it was not related to autism but an anxiety disorder. But if "repetitive behaviours" are autistic then it makes sense repetitive thoughts are too?
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
As an #ActuallyAutistic person, eye contact is too uncomfortable and often forced when deemed necessary. My article discusses some of the reasons why many autistic people dislike eye contact and why we shouldn't force this behaviour in people. www.simplypsychology.org/autism-eye-c...
simplypsychology.org
Autism And Eye Contact: Why Is It So Difficult?
Autistic individuals often experience eye contact differently compared to neurotypical people. While eye contact can be an important social cue, it can also be overwhelming or distressing for many of ...
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Due to significantly more people being diagnosed as autistic, it raises the question of: Are more people autistic these days? My article explores some of the possible reasons why autism appears to be 'increasing.' www.simplypsychology.org/why-is-autis... #ActuallyAutistic #Autism #Neurodiversity
simplypsychology.org
Is Autism Really Increasing?
This article explores the potential reasons behind the observed increase in autism prevalence rates and addresses common misconceptions about the condition.
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Olivia Guy-Evans @oliviaguyevans.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
My 1st post on Blue Sky 🦋 Below is an article I wrote outlining 13 myths and misconceptions about autism. www.simplypsychology.org/autism-myths...
simplypsychology.org
13 Autism Myths And Misconceptions
Despite growing awareness, many misconceptions about autism persist, leading to confusion, stigma, and barriers to understanding and acceptance. These myths often arise from outdated information, medi...
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