Empathy in people with Asperger syndrome

The stigma about the absence of empathy in people with Asperger syndrome continues to exist in our society. However, from neuroscience they tell us very clearly: children, adolescents and adults with Asperger’s do feel the pain of others, they see it, they appreciate it and they worry. However, they do not know how to react, what responses or behaviors to emit in these situations.

It is very possible that both Cinema and television series have contributed to creating a type of image about autism spectrum disorders that generally adjusts very little to reality.. To begin with, the most important fact to consider is that, as the word itself indicates, we are facing a condition that falls within a spectrum.

There will be people with much more rigid behaviors, people with great difficulties even in terms of speech and communication. Others, however, will show high functioning and good memory skills. and great potential in certain areas of knowledge, such as science or mathematics.

Therefore, not all children with ASD are the same and, although Asperger syndrome is the most common within this spectrum, generalization always produces an error. This developmental disorder requires understanding and closeness, which is why it is necessary to understand a little about what that internal universe related to empathy is like.

Empathy in people with Asperger syndrome: concepts and characteristics

What is empathy like in people with Asperger syndrome? Do they lack it or is it present in the same way as in neurotypicals (typically developing people without ASD)? The answer is not as simple as a resounding “yes” or a conclusive “no.” The topic is not simple because empathy, by itself, is not as simple a dimension as we may think.

Let’s look at a series of data below.

Two types of empathy

Christopher Gillberg, professor at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), is known for developing the most common criteria when diagnosing Asperger syndrome. Good, This doctor usually defines this developmental disorder as “the disease of empathy.”

Highlighting only this idea is feeding the stigma of the group. In reality, what needs to be clarified is that empathy in people with Asperger syndrome works differently.

Empathy comes in two ways. The first is cognitive. Thanks to it we have the ability to see the world from another’s perspective. We understand what is happening to them because we can place ourselves “in the mind” of the person in front of us. Now, On the other hand there is emotional empathy. In this case, we limit ourselves to feeling what the other feels. We experience an emotional contagion, we see, feel and connect but we do not understand. And if we do it, it is thanks to the coalition with the other type of empathy, cognitive. This is what a person with Asperger’s experiences. He can identify the suffering and joy of others, be infected by it, but he does not know how to react, what to do or how to act. Your cognitive empathy is not always present.

Neuroscience and Asperger’s syndrome

The Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, conducted an interesting study in 2014. It sought to identify through magnetic resonance imaging How the brain of people with Asperger’s works.

Thus, something that could be seen is that Empathy in people with Asperger syndrome and the mechanisms that orchestrate it do appear. The processes related to the identification of other people’s pain occur, they are real, but yes, not in the same way as in neurotypical people. These differences could be explained thanks to a work published in the journal Molecular Autism. Professor Baron-Cohen, from the Autism Research Center at the University of Cambridge, carried out a study to discover the presence of a gene, GABRB3, which could be behind these alterations in empathy.

This gene also It also regulates the functioning of a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). In this way, the alteration in its functionality can lead to more rigid behaviors, hypersensitivity to stimuli and difficulty in understanding or situating oneself within other people’s perspectives.

Now, there is another piece of information that is even more interesting. The alteration in this gene is not exclusive to the group with ASD (autism spectrum disorder). We can all present a variation in the GABRB3 and thus show certain limitations in terms of empathy.

Hypersensitivity in autism or the phenomenon of “excess empathy”

This data is striking. Researchers Henry and Kamila Markram, Israeli neuroscientists, They point out that one of the problems of people with autism is hypersensitivity to experience . Everything is too intense and overwhelming. The world has too many stimuli, too many sounds, lights, smells, sensations…

Thus, and as striking as it may seem to us, it also the emotional world is too chaotic for them. Everything is lived in an excessive and painful way, there is an excess of anxiety…

Therefore, according to these scientists, people with Asperger syndrome do not feel anything about other people’s emotions. Sometimes they feel too much and become stuck, not knowing how to react or what to do.

That feeling is not pleasant. They feel overwhelmed and hence avoid eye contactwho withdraw and tend to avoid certain social situations because those scenarios are too intrusive for their senses.

In conclusion. Empathy in people with Asperger syndrome is real, it exists and it is there. It’s just that it works differently and that is something we must understand. The internal world of this group is not easy and hence they need our sensitivity, respect and alliance so that they can integrate into our daily lives at their own pace, in their own way and with their own personal light.

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