Can anyone help me with this problem/does it have a name?

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Today we almost wrecked and I was laughing afterwards while my little sister was in tears (sure I would of been upset if anything DID happen but it didn't!) I also 90+% of the time laugh when the little sisters get into trouble (IMO you should behave now not listening to mommy IMO= your fault and funny running with scissors and injury NO!) Of course I also thought back to moments in my past when my Psychology teacher was pregnant I fealt bad since my family history has pregnancy issues I WORRIED FOR HER! Also my old coworker who was a friend Delilah said she had a bad leg and one day she had to go home I fealt SO BAD for her!! !! and yet my own family I do the above??? Can anyone help me with these issues IMO it has to do with respect Delilah and the Psychology teacher were always nice to me and friendly etc. so I fealt for them plus the family history about births.

I'm understanding that you seem to feel sympathy for friends & other people outside your own family, but not your family. But I do not understand why you upset your sister? Your first sentence in particular threw me off b/c it seems a bit vague to me. I've never heard of a condition (that is named) where you have sympathy for those outside your family but not those in your family. Maybe it is due to frustration with dealing with your families problems more directly than your friends, etc. I really have no idea, sorry I cannot really help.

My little sister was upset since the almost wreck scared her (and all of us I just laugh it off like I do ALOT of things). I think it falls onto how I'm treated at times maybe.

Unusual expression of emotion is fairly typical for AS, I thought.

Also, as humans we have a tendency to laugh in the face of danger. It's a coping mechanism. I wonder if people with AS often skip over the initial emotion and go straight to laughter once it's logically obvious that everything is okay.

I'm sure that you care about your family a lot, probably even more than you realize. My guess is that's why you express differently for them than just friends or acquaintances you know.

I remember a few years back when I found out my brother had been hospitalized. I initially had almost no emotional reaction at all. Less than 24 hours later, I had a meltdown in my living room over what I thought were concerns about the state of the U.S. Congress. Hah! Five minutes later, after talking it through with my wife (who very kindly led me back into the bedroom and comforted me), I realized it was because I was worried about my brother. It was weird how I had to logically figure out what I was upset about; I just couldn't feel it directly.

I have an 11 year old who is diagnosed with AS, and a 7 year old who is not AS (but not too far from it.) The 7 year old laughs when his brother gets really upset. It's pretty clear to me that it's a nervous reaction; a coping mechanism. His big brother can be really intense and irrational when he's upset, and I can see that it's hard for the 7 year old to know what to do with those emotions, so it comes out as laughter. Then his brother gets more upset because he thinks he's being laughed at, and it spirals downhill from there.

I think it's pretty common for people on the spectrum to have unusual or inappropriate ways of showing emotion. When I was in basic training, in the military, there were a couple of people who smiled when they were being yelled at, and got yelled at even more. Later on, when we were away from the drill instructor, they would say, "I get so nervous, I can't help laughing. Then I get even more nervous because I can't stop, and that makes me laugh even more." I have no idea if those people were on the autistic spectrum or not.

I have this, too. My family has a history of antithetical laughter. My sister calls it the "Choctaw chuckle," although I've never heard that phrase anywhere else. It can occasionally get us into trouble, because it's very easy to misunderstand. My grand-nephew laughs when he's under stress or others are angry with him and I worry that it will get him into serious trouble as he gets into his teen years.

Regards,

Patricia

i laugh or cry inappropriately a lot. I don't think it has a name other than inappropriate reactions.

I knew AS and the spectrum fell into showing emotion differentally so I think that's a key reason but for me emotionally it gets to me. One day your in a good mood having a good day and a laughing "incident" happens (mainly kids behaving badly/Jackson death etc. (but Hey I CRIED when Paris was saying she loved her dad!! ! GO FIGURE!) So then the next day I'm wracking my brain about changing my behavior and get upset crying/told you seem depressed etc. (IMO YOU DIDN'T LIKE IT WHEN I WAS BEING MYSELF HAPPY NOW SINCE I'M TRYING TO CHANGE THAT BEHAVIOR YOU THINK I'M DEPRESSED SHEESH!! !!)

I do that to when someone in my familly gets hurt I laugh but not because I think it's funny but because I'm nervous.

After all, you said ALMOST. Laughter could have been a relief reaction, and a way of releasing tension. Perfectly normal.
(based on your limited details)