[Medical Q&A] Do people with autism really have no emotions?

Planner: Chinese Medical Association

Reviewer: Wang Hua, Chief Physician, Shengjing Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University

Many people believe that people with autism have "no emotions", but in fact, they do not lack emotions, but they have difficulties in expressing and understanding emotions. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder whose core symptoms include social interaction disorders, language communication disorders, as well as narrow interests and stereotyped repetitive behaviors. These characteristics may lead to the outside world misunderstanding that they are "cold" or "unemotional".

People with autism have obvious difficulties in social interaction. In infancy, they may avoid eye contact and lack response to voices; in early childhood, this avoidance behavior persists, they do not respond to calls, and will not take the initiative to share happiness or seek comfort from others. Even when they reach school age, although some patients may show friendliness to family members or classmates, they still lack the interest and behavior to actively interact with others. This is because their way of expression is different from that of ordinary people, and it is difficult for them to convey emotions through conventional body language or facial expressions.

People with autism also face many difficulties in language communication. When they are young, they often express their needs by crying or screaming, instead of using language to communicate. When they are a little older, they may point to objects by holding hands, etc., but they lack the corresponding facial expressions or body movements. In addition, their language comprehension ability is weak, their grammatical structure is chaotic, and their intonation and speaking speed may also be abnormal. Because it is difficult to interpret other people's expressions, tone or body language, and they cannot express themselves in words, they appear "indifferent" or "uncaring" in social situations, but this does not mean that they lack emotions.

In summary, autistic people are not without emotions, but they express them in a unique and limited way. Although they may have deficiencies in empathy, this does not mean that they cannot feel love, joy or sadness, but we need to perceive and respond in different ways.