AS/autism and types of empathy - parent perspective

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Hi, guys, I'm doing a survey intended to be filled out by parents of autism spectrum kids - any functioning level, though it's more intended for HFA. (For those of you who are on the spectrum, don't fill this out about yourselves. Self-report and informant report involve different cognitive processes, and I'm specifically looking for informant report.)

It's commonly said that autistic kids lack empathy. But there are different kinds of empathy - the ability to figure out how someone else is feeling, and the emotional reaction you have to your perception of the other person's emotions. Most studies into 'empathy' in autism have only examined ability to figure out how someone else is feeling, and not the emotional reactions the person has when they do figure it out. Of the studies that have examined this area of empathy, some have asked AS people to report on their own experiences, others have measured physiological reactions. No one has examined how parents perceive empathy in their autism spectrum kids.

In addition, I'm also interested in studying the relationship between the two types of empathy and certain behavioral/personality traits in autistic kids, as well as whether additional diagnoses (such as ADHD or ODD) influence the child's empathy pattern.

If you want to participate, click this link:

http://fluidsurveys.com/surveys/ettina/empathy-types/

I looked at the survey. It's very comprehensive. Seems more comprehensive that some autism spectrum tests I've seen online. I dare say it may even be applicable to adults. I took some of it. It seems relevant.

Awesome study idea!

I have always said it isn't that my kids lack empathy. It's that they can't always figure out how the other person feels. It's hard to display empathy when you have no idea how someone else feels.

My son is actually probably hyper-empathic once he is able to identify how someone else feels. He just has a tendency to miss signs of sadness or distress unless they are very overt.

Very good survey. It was extremely comprehensive, and it was good to think about my daughter's strengths. (She is very compassionate and empathetic; wished you had mentioned generous, because I see that as a sign of empathy.)
I think it might be hard to compile conclusive results, however, given the range of traits our children have.
Please share your findings with us!
J.

I will be very curious what you learn.