If, like me, you are often overwhelmed by the news, you might have found recent coverage of autism in the media quite intense.
With some particular very famous autistic people (think American inauguration or the Super Bowl adverts) doing things which many of us would strongly disagree with, it can feel uncomfortable when news reports, as these two examples do, seem to casually mention their autism diagnosis alongside descriptions of their behaviour, possibly implying causation. In this way, often the diagnosis seems a lazy attempt to explain or excuse often bad behaviour.
In the wave of this coverage, it has prompted me to reflect on the public narrative around autism and, in particular, the understanding of autistic empathy. Are these acts just ‘symptoms’ of all autistic people who must have an empathy deficit?
Short answer: Well, no.
As you may know, Simon Baron-Cohen produced a series of work on autism in the early 2000s that set out that autistic people have below average levels of empathy. This research has been very influential in public perceptions of autism and autistic people.
However, I am sure many people reading this would say their lived experience of autism is much more nuanced.
In fact, recent research from Sheffield Hallam University investigated empathy specifically through lived experience.
Their study found that there was a huge diversity in how autistic people experience empathy. They had a wide range of responses with some participants reporting that they didn’t feel empathy or that they found it difficult to understand or express it. However, they also found that “78% of participants felt they experienced ‘hyper-empathy’”.
Hyper-empathy is when other people’s pain or suffering is felt by the autistic person themselves and is often described as feeling like you absorb other people’s emotions.
This study is interesting in that it sought input directly from those with lived experience and it produced a range of experiences. As the National Autistic Society puts it, the study indicates just how “diverse [the] experiences of empathy” are among autistic people. It also highlights just how important it is to advocate for research which centres autistic voices. Without input from autistic people, research can become distanced from the plurality of experience that comes with being autistic.
The stereotype that all autistic people lack empathy has been hurtful in many ways. In that, it doesn’t represent all autistic people’s experiences, it has often prevented those who do display empathy from accessing diagnosis and it furthers a specific view about how all autistic people must behave and feel. And, in some part, the stereotype contributes to it being acceptable for a diagnosis to be dropped into journalistic pieces without comment – as though being autistic is explanation enough.
While I started this blog speaking about bad behaviour by famous autistic people on the world stage, I want to finish it by reaffirming that it is okay to feel upset that autism is being linked – however directly or indirectly – in the media to their behaviour. I am sure many of us may have had to endure conversations at work or around a dinner table discussing these links, often brought up by people with no lived experience of autism at all. It is important that we make sure to take time out to recover, rest and take care of ourselves when these things feel overwhelming.
While autistic people may experience the world differently to allistics (a non-autistic person), this is a wonderful thing. Undoubtedly, my experience of my autistic brain is going to be different to yours, and that makes me so joyful to think about. Whatever your experience of empathy as an autistic person, our diverse ways of thinking are so enriching for us all and make our communities stronger and brighter!
Here are some key takeaways from my above blog, and some handy resources.
Resources:
Bronwyn has previously worked in a wide range of sectors – both private and public – including technology, telecoms and robotics in roles across Business Partnering, Learning & Development and Reward.
Bronwyn is an experienced Employee Disability Network Lead and they enjoy mentoring and supporting other late-diagnosed autistic people.
For the past 3 years, they have been working with Coventry University and Sussex University to support research into how disabled and/or neurodivergent people experience remote work.
