Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Empathy or Not?

Lately, I’ve been feeling under the weather with a persistent cold.  Last Wednesday morning, sitting with my son as he ate breakfast, I started sniffling on and off.  He said, “Mommy, do you need to blow your nose?”  Anxiously rushing him along, I said, “No, not yet.”  He asked if I had a cold.  When I responded that I did, he said, “Well, I hope you feel better.”

Is this empathy? Empathy is defined as “Identification with and understanding of another’s feelings, situation, and motives,” according to Webster’s II New College Dictionary. 

One of the characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is problems with empathy.  For instance, in a 2004 study by researchers at the University of Cambridge, adults with and without Asperger’s syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA) filled out questionnaires including items on empathy.  They found 81 percent of the adults with AS/HFA scored equal to or fewer than 30 points out of 80 compared with 12 percent of adults without AS/HFA.

However, some studies suggest that adults with autism may lack a type of empathy.   In a 2007 study published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, researchers at New York University School of Medicine tested adults with and without Asperger's syndrome by measures of empathy and theory of mind including the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). 

The adults with AS scored lower on theory of mind and cognitive empathy than healthy subjects. But there was no difference between the adults with and without AS on an affective empathy scale of the IRI for empathic concern.  In addition, the AS adults scored higher on another scale regarding personal distress compared with those without AS.  

What’s more, other studies suggest that children—particularly boys—with ASD may report feelings of empathy but difficulties with cognitive perspective-taking (i.e. understanding another person’s point of view).  Still, some of this research is limited and further analysis is needed. 

Maybe my son recognizes a rule-based moral code regarding colds (e.g. a sniffle means that a person has a cold) and responds accordingly.  Or perhaps he is reacting to my familiar facial cues of discomfort.  I refuse to draw any conclusions.

But it adds more dimension as my husband and I flesh out our son’s IEP, putting more emphasis on perspective-taking. And day by day, I am encouraged that, he may recognize the signs of pain and hurt in other people and eventually, he will respond to it. 

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