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Writer's pictureNicole Igarashi

Cultivating Empathy Through Neurodivergent Perspectives


Understanding and fostering empathy are called for when creating inclusive and supportive environments. Have you ever thought about how your level of empathy colors how you view the autistic community?


The Double Empathy Problem


The traditional understanding of empathy is limited to only one perspective, overlooking the diverse ways individuals with neurodivergent traits interact with and see the world.


Autistic researcher Damion Milton's double empathy problem upends this viewpoint by emphasizing that empathy is a two-way street, influenced by both parties in a social interaction.


For autistic individuals, navigating social nuances and communication often results in misunderstandings with allistic (non-autistic) peers. The double empathy theory posits that these communication breakdowns may stem from a lack of reciprocity in understanding each other's perspectives, not in a deficiency on the part of the autistic people.


In fact, when the two groups are compared, autistic people communicate better with each other than their allistic peers. Another study found that autistic people were more generous than allistics overall, including being more generous to strangers.

It may be time to ask ourselves why a group with more generous, pro-social behavior performs so poorly in society, and if that is the fault of the group or the society.


A picture of the bell curve distribution of the psychopathy scale.
Psychopathy Exists on a Scale

Exploring Autistic Hyper Empathy


In recent years, a discussion has started around the idea of autistic hyper-empathy.


This is a heightened sensitivity to the emotions of others that some autistic individuals display. For those of us who experience hyper-empathy, it can lead to overwhelming emotional experiences. This makes it essential to establish healthy boundaries and person-centered coping mechanisms.


Yet so many of the messages autistic people recieve starting in childhood instead tell us to center the comfort of others ahead of our own.


Forcing autistics to supress their hyper-empathy in favor of what is socially "appropriate" completely misses the potential it has to enhance interpersonal relationships in a time when loneliness is an epidemic and people feel more disconnected than ever.


Cultivating Empathy Between the Neurotypes


Letting people who do not understand us interpret our behavior as disordered has caused a legacy of pain and rejection. Yet we in the autistic community continue to show up and ask for greater empathy and understanding, Can you spare a moment to try to see the world from our perspective?


Cultivating empathy through neurodivergent perspectives starts by creating a habit of seeking them. Explore these ideas in depth at your own pace in our The ND Movement, Explained course. Or by attending our upcoming Don't Mourn for Us series of webinars.




 

Speak kindly to yourselves, it gets better.


Nicole





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1 Comment


Great article and very-much appreciated. I now look forward to the October 16th course 😁

Thanks for the Knowledge 🐣

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