Empathy in autistic people

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Empathy in autistic individuals is considered a complex topic studied within research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In 1985, British researchers Simon Baron-Cohen and Uta Frith proposed the absence of theory of mind, defined as the inability of autistic individuals to understand the intentions and emotions of others, as a framework for understanding ASD symptoms. Later studies indicated that autistic people are not devoid of empathy, but that their empathy is often based on conscious cognitive processes and logical associations, with less emphasis on social acceptability, unlike the more automatic, socially driven processes observed in non-autistic individuals. Possible explanations have included the presence of alexithymia, differences in mirror neuron activity, variations in amygdala function, or an imbalance between heightened affective empathy and reduced cognitive empathy. In addition, recent studies have shown autistic people may empathize better with other autistic people.

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