Do Persons with Autism Lack Empathy?

              A couple of weeks ago, the handle of our old broom broke as I was sweeping the yard. I tried fixing it while C (my eleven year old son with autism) was watching. My efforts failed and decided to dispose the broom instead. Frustrated, I spent almost an hour trying to mend it for nothing. 
The next day, I was surprised to see the broom all fixed up. The handle was neatly and sturdily connected to the broom. I thanked my husband for it. But he replied,"No, I did not fix it." There are only the four of us in the house- me, my hubby, C, and our youngest son who is five years old. If it's not me, nor my husband who fixed the broken broom, then who did? While trying to figure out who, we saw C giggling while staring at us. And so we asked him,"did you fix the broom, dear?" With that radiant smile on his face, he replied, "yes."
            That was not only about an old broken broom. What made us really happy was the fact that our son took the time to help us without being asked. He showed us he cares and we matter to him. 


             There was a misconception in the past that person with autism lack empathy. Apparently, they are unable to understand the kind of situation other persons around them might be into. With that being said, the appropriate or acceptable response cannot be elicited given a particular situation. This was strongly disapproved by persons and families who work and live with persons with autism. Those persons and families can really say that belief is false because they have felt their love and concern is reciprocated. Perhaps not by complex words and actions, but with a sweet smile, a gentle touch, a warm hug out of love, definitely not out of  sensory input craving. These are hard to measure and document statistically since these can only be experienced by persons who actually live with someone with autism.
            Good thing, one study theorized that persons with autism do not actually lack empathy (Article on that theory). Rather, they have an excess of empathy since they are overwhelmed and find it hard to cope up with others'  emotions. Hence, empathic gestures may not be shown since they may withdraw  and shut themselves out of the situation. It's a well-known finding that persons under the spectrum may be over or under sensitive or even delayed in processing of sensory inputs coming from the environment, including people around them (Article about Sensory Processing). Autism manifests differently with each affected individual. The time to attain developmental milestones, including the ability to express empathy varies greatly.
           Empathy can be shown in many ways. One can express empathy by listening, through physical affection, and offering help or actually helping others. Persons with autism may or may not be able to express empathy. This does not mean they are unemotional. They do care. It's just that it's difficult for them to show it. Being considerate and understanding are also ways to show empathy.



Photo Credits:
   Broom  by Iamnee
   Mother & Daughter by Dominici