Temple Grandin:

Normal people have an incredible lack of empathy. They have good emotional empathy, but they don't have much empathy for the autistic kid who is screaming at the baseball game because he can't stand the sensory overload. Or the autistic kid having a meltdown in the school cafeteria because there's too much stimulation.

I'm frustrated with the inability of normal people to have sensory empathy.

They can't seem to acknowledge these different realities because they're so far away from their own experiences.

I have tickets to attend an evening with Dr Temple Grandin and AEIOU Foundation at the University of Southern Queensland on 24 October, 2013.

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@*elizabeths-mum* wrote:
People with antisocial personality disorder lack empathy (psychopaths)

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that's true EM ..though others can lack it without being necessarily being a pyschopath can't they ?

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@grandmoon wrote:
As I said in post 3. She told us that she suffered with autism.

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gmoon, in answer to your OP, it may well be that it is too much to ask, but everyone is different.

In her mind the fact she is actually talking and not just pointing, or grunting or just expecting that you know what she wants might be as much as she is capable of.

It may be that the world is about her and that all the other people are there to meet her needs. She may not understand why you don't just know what she needs without her having to say anything. As far as she is concerned, she knows she needs it, so she might not understand why you don't know that.

It just all depends how the condition affects her. It might be that she is doing the best that she is able to. It might be that she doesn't realize she is being rude. or she may not know how to ask any differently.

Kathy Lette's book about her son was a good read imo. 

Thank you all for the information it is interesting and informative.  Now to be able to work with it.

Thanks again

People with narcissistic personalities lack empathy, that doesn't make them pyschopaths.

I have worked in a Special Needs school ( in the office). Some of the students (many different types of intellectual disablities.. including Aspergers & Autistic) had beautiful manners, taught to them by their parent(s).