Autistic and non-autistic people express emotions through their faces in distinct ways, which may lead to frequent misinterpretations on both sides. Rather than lacking emotion, autistic individuals may simply be using a different “emotional language.” Credit: Connor Keating, 2026 A new study suggests that autistic and non-autistic people use their faces to show emotions in different ways. These differences may help explain why emotional expressions are sometimes misunderstood between the two