3 ms·
> I can't help but wonder if there's something about the tendency to black-and-white thinking characteristic of autism that makes it hard for people on one end
by kelseyfrog 3y ago
> I can't help but wonder if there's something about the tendency to black-and-white thinking characteristic of autism that makes it hard for people on one end of the autism spectrum to appreciate that the experiences of people on the opposite end might be very different from their own.
You've quite succinctly described the Double Empathy Problem[1].
Personally I find it more strange that allistic[2] people can't understand autistic people. The supposed ability of allistic people to pick up on people's body language, social cues, and subtext, somehow doesn't extend to autistic individuals. Utterly baffling.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_empathy_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_empathy_problem
2. Allistic - not affected by autism
- smeej 3y agoI don't know if this helps at all, but I think allistic people are able to pick up on each other's body language, social cues, and subtext because they instinctively use the same ones. If an allistic person is tapping their foot while I'm talking to them, for example, I will be accurate more often than not if I assume they're growing bored with the conversation, because that's what would cause me to take the same action. If an autistic person is tapping their foot while I'm talking to them, there is every chance it has nothing to do with me, or that it might mean they're extremely interested in what I'm saying, and this is how they are coping with the excess energy of that excited interest. If I assume they're growing bored, I'll probably be wrong. I'm no more surprised by this than I am when monolingual people have no trouble understanding someone speaking their own language, but are completely incapable of understanding someone speaking a different language.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]