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Empathetic deprivation

Rosie33

I would be very grateful for any advice on how to deal with this and use the right words to say 

Our son is in his 30s but cannot show any compassion for illness at all  I've been seriously ill since February I'm slowly getting better but he won't mention it or ask how I am He justs expects me to carry on and when I was completely immobile he would text and say What are doing today I would reply and all I'd get was ok

I'm finding it very hard I know I should be saying Its how he is he can't help it but having been there all his life with all his various health and autism problems I'm finding it hard to cope with when I need support and Im starting to feel resentful which I know is wrong 

if anyone can relate to this and tell me how they coped or make me think differently I'd be so grateful 

He can be the sweetest person ever and then change into someone I love dearly but don't like very much 

  • A lack of empathy, of course, can be one of the characteristics of autism and we know there is an empathy test that people can take in order to assess whereabouts on the spectrum they are.

    So, a lack of empathy isn't necessarily something an autistic person can control - it's all tied up with their 'different wiring' - and, as Tom has mentioned, it needs to be made clear to such individuals that sometimes a more sympathetic attitude is appropiate. Obviously, this is difficult where you are dealing with kids because they don't really understand what's going on so I guess a lot of patience and understanding needs to be applied to try to deal with it.