Published on 12, July, 2020
How come my understanding of facial expressions is so primitive that if people are not smiling I interpret their thinking as dislike of me?
It's due to autism.
It is the same with me although I tend to interpret someone not smiling at me as either they are unhappy or annoyed.
I am constantly asking people I am close to how they are feeling. Not knowing makes me a bit panicky.
It's one of the 'triad of impairments' for diagnosis.
See below:
'Language and communication: difficulties in recognising and understanding verbal and non-verbal language, such as gestures, facial expressions and tone of voice.'
Absolutely but not all allisics people are hyperempaths, by far (a mere 2%), otherwise autistic people wouldn't have so much trouble. So I find it interesting to understand how people who are also largely blind to the emotional state of others deal with this aspect in a different way than autistic people do.
Annie said:not all allisics people are hyperempaths,
I believe I am empathetic when someone tells me what they are feeling in an obvious way eg. they tell me or they cry.
As far as I understand it empathy is understanding a person's thoughts and feelings from their point of view.
Not recognising facial expressions and non-verbal signs isn't something I see as related to empathy.
It's the recognising that's the hurdle.
That's a very good question indeed! Hyperempathy is not a typical allistic trait in any case. It can cause overloads when in crowds and requires training to cope with it.