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In the first study of its kind, researchers from the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh worked with adults with autism who had received treatment for eating disorders. Participants viewed personalized, autism-affirming peer support, where people with shared lived experience support one another, as potentially valuable for recovery. The research is published in the journal Eating Disorders.

Eating disorders affect autistic people at significantly higher rates, with around 27% experiencing symptoms compared with 3% of women and 0.4% of men in the general population.

Autistic people often report poorer treatment experiences. The authors suggest that this could be because existing therapies rarely reflect the different ways eating disorders develop and are maintained in neurodivergent people, such as sensory differences around food, rigid routines or using food and exercise to manage anxiety.

The study, conducted through the Eating Disorders and Autism Collaborative (EDAC), consulted 25 autistic adults about the potential benefits and concerns of peer support. Those involved described peer support as highly valuable for validation, connection and building a positive autistic identity.

One of the individuals involved in the study said peer support was helpful "to feel a sense of solidarity among peers with similar experiences, to share and listen to others about my and their experience and feel heard and understood and to connect when much of life may have been isolating."

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