Is it a myth that autistics lack empathy?
Written on 1st Jun 2020 by Alex Lowery
One aspect of autism that is frequently misunderstood is the struggle with empathy. Many professionals have said that autistic people lack the capacity to empathise with other people, but more and more people on the autistic spectrum are coming out saying this is actually a myth and that autistic people do have strong empathy. Some are even going so far as to say autistics have too much empathy, but it’s not always understood.
There is an article from the Seventh Voice which also believes the theory to be false that you can view here.
However, I personally believe that neither the professionals nor the autistic advocates are correct. I think how much empathy a person has very much depends on the person. I am able to empathise but only if I’ve been in the same situation as another person. In all honesty, I would be lying if I said I had just as much empathy as neurotypicals. Lacking empathy altogether is rare in autism and this is important to let others know. However, I think there is a problem with making out like empathy isn’t difficult for every autistic person because for some people it can genuinely be difficult. I am able to empathise but I do struggle to put myself in other people’s shoes and I can’t really minimise the struggle I have with this. I know the YouTuber ‘The Autistic Genius’ says pretty much the same thing as me in his myths video as I do.
In the end I would say it depends on the autistic person. Some people with autism may well have great empathy that’s simply misunderstood while others struggle with it. You can also watch a video I did on the subject in the link below.
Thank you for reading. I hope you learned a lot from this article.
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