Autism Acceptance Month – Day 3 – Empathy
Many say that us Autistics don’t have empathy. In reality, we feel too much. Therefore, we are overwhelmed and we shut down. A lot of Autistic people have heightened senses. For instance, I can feel the mood in the room. This can be very overwhelming to me, especially if it’s a negative feeling. So I shut down and become non-verbal. This comes across as uncaring, but it is actually the opposite. I care too much, but I cannot process what to do with the information.
As I have mentioned in the past, Autism is about extremes. Yes, there may be some Autistics who do not have empathy. There are also a large chunk of us who have too much of it. This is also why we are better at connecting with animals over humans. They are a lot easier for us to understand.