When someone we love is sad, we often feel their pain. This is called empathy. But do autistic people have empathy? Despite a common misconception, individuals on the spectrum do experience deep feelings for others, even if expressing those emotions is challenging.
While many autistic people may not know how to show their emotions, that doesn’t mean they don’t feel the pain along with their loved ones. However, learning about the way an autistic person shows their feelings can help us all understand when they are feeling empathy.
Understanding empathy
In its simplest definition, empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings. However, there are different types of empathy, most notably cognitive and emotional.
Cognitive empathy is defined as the ability to understand another person’s perspective and emotional state without necessarily feeling those emotions themselves.
In contrast, emotional empathy is when a person feels those same emotions alongside the person in pain.
Cognitive empathy is when you know why someone feels like they do, while emotional empathy is when you feel those same feelings.
Do autistic people have empathy?
When it comes to people with autism spectrum disorder, empathy is a little harder to recognize. The facial expressions of many autistic people may make it seem like they don’t have emotions.
These actions lead many not on the spectrum to believe autistic people lack empathy. However, the relationship between autism and empathy is far more complex.
Research suggests autistic people absolutely experience empathy but don’t know how to convey the emotions they are feeling. Autistic people may struggle to communicate and not know how to respond when they experience empathy.
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Further research suggests the link between autism and empathy varies depending on the individual. A study into what’s called the “intense world theory” looks at how autistic people experience overactive brain regions.
This theory suggests that emotions like empathy are linked to heightened sensory experiences. For autistic individuals, this can result in sensory overload, triggering fear and anxiety when exposed to stimuli associated with empathetic responses.
What does empathy look like in autism?
As every person with autism is different, how they feel and show compassion will be different. Many struggle with cognitive empathy. However, despite some autistic people not showing emotions, others will become overwhelmed by them.
This can lead autistic people to show empathy through affective empathy, hyper-empathy, or practical acts.
Affective empathy
Affective empathy and emotional empathy are interchangeable terms. While some autistic people struggle with emotions, others experience them fully.
People with autism spectrum disorder who experience strong affective empathy often do so out of instinct and involuntary responses.
Hyper-empathy
If an autistic person experiences other people’s emotions as their own, this is called hyper-empathy. This can be confusing for people on the spectrum as they may have difficulty differentiating between their emotions and those they feel for others.
Practical acts
Some autistic individuals who don’t know how to convey their emotions properly may turn to practical acts to show empathy. They may perform household chores or cook a meal for the person struggling.
It’s their way of showing they don’t lack empathy. They just don’t know how to express emotion effectively.
What are ways to support autistic individuals as they navigate empathy?
Autistic people may struggle with conveying empathy, but many will try to navigate these feelings despite the potential for significant challenges. Helping them navigate empathy will be unique to each individual and should be tailored to that person’s specific needs.
Still, some tactics should be incorporated, including:
- Creating a safe and supportive environment – This allows autistic people to express empathy in a way that best suits them.
- Teaching emotional vocabulary – This can help autistic individuals recognize their own emotional state and identify emotional cues.
- Using positive reinforcement – Giving praise or rewards when an autistic person demonstrates empathetic behavior. This can encourage them to demonstrate empathy again in the future.
- Modeling empathetic behavior – Teaching autistic people to express empathy can help them respond appropriately to verbal cues, facial expressions, and gestures.
- Providing social skills training – This can be used to teach autistic people how to understand body language and recognize the emotions of others.
- Encouraging healthy boundaries – This can be helpful for an autistic person experiencing hyper-empathy. Healthy boundaries can protect them from becoming deeply affected by the emotions of others.
- Seeking professional counseling – Professional help may be needed for autistic people who experience hyper-empathy by providing guidance and establishing clearer boundaries.
Empathy and autism: Breaking the stereotypes
The autism community does not lack empathy or have low empathy. They may struggle with how to convey their emotions in the same way neurotypical people do. This may cause individuals diagnosed with autism to often be misunderstood.
Parents and caregivers can work with others to demonstrate how and why autistic people express emotions the way they do. This can foster a greater understanding of empathy and autism while helping break down unnecessary barriers in communication between neurotypical people and those on the spectrum.
FAQs
Q: Can you be autistic and still have empathy?
A: All people with autism are capable of empathy. However, their experience with empathy can vary. They may struggle with cognitive empathy, affective empathy, or finding ways to express these emotions.
Q: Do autistic people have high IQs?
A: Having autism doesn’t always mean someone has a high IQ. However, many studies show that some autistic people have higher-than-average intelligence.
Q: Do people with ADHD have empathy?
A: Yes, people with ADHD are fully capable of empathy. However, they may sometimes find it challenging to express their emotions clearly, similar to individuals with autism.
References
Bollen, C. (2023) A reflective guide on the meaning of empathy in autism research. Methods in Psychology, 8, 100109 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590260122000200
Crompton, C. J., DeBrabander, K., Heasman, B., Milton, D., & Sasson, N. J. (2021). Double empathy: why autistic people are often misunderstood. Frontiers for Young Minds, 9(10.3389). https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2021.554875/pdf
Fletcher-Watson, S., & Bird, G. (2020). Autism and empathy: What are the real links? Autism, 24(1), 3-6. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361319883506
Harmsen, I.E. Empathy in Autism Spectrum Disorder J Autism Dev Disord 49, 3939–3955 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04087-w
Shalev, I., Warrier, V., Greenberg, D. M., Smith, P., Allison, C., Baron‐Cohen, S., … & Uzefovsky, F. (2022) Reexamining empathy in autism: Empathic disequilibrium as a novel predictor of autism diagnosis and autistic traits. Autism Research, 15(10), 1917-1928 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/aur.2794
Song, Y., Nie, T., Shi, W., Zhao, X., & Yang, Y. (2019) Empathy impairment in individuals with autism spectrum conditions from a multidimensional perspective: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1902 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01902/full
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-asd
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