Autism-World

Ask:

I wanted to ask if narcissism and autism are related. I know a few autists and they are really self-centered!

Answer:

One of the key traits in people with autism is that they lack what is known in psychology as a ‘theory of mind’, which is also known as ‘mindblindness’. Theory of mind (T.O.M) means the ability to understand that other people have a mind and thoughts that differ from our own. This means that people with autism will often only be able to see things from their own point of view, they cannot imagine how something may affect someone else; which may be why you see them as self-centred.
An example of a simple test used with autism (usually autistic children) highlights this and it is known as the ‘Sally Ann Marbles Test.’

In this test the child watches an enactment of a story. In the story, the child sees 2 girls or dolls called Sally and Ann who both have a box each. The child sees Sally put her marble into her box and then leave. The child watches as Ann then plays a trick on Sally, where she takes the marble from Sally’s box and puts it in her own box. The child sees Sally return and is asked ‘where will Sally look for her marble?’. People with autism (and often young children too who do not have autism but have not as yet developed a T.O.M) will say that Sally will look for the marble in Ann’s box, because THEY know it is in Ann’s box-they watched her put it there. They cannot understand that Sally did not see Ann put the marble in her box and therefore would think it is still in Sally’s box.

I hope that example helps you understand more about why what you perceive as ‘narcissim’ is indeed a lack of T.O.M. So please do not think that people with autism are all out for themselves, they just do not have the abilities to understand the thoughts of others in isolation to their own.

PS: there is a big difference between someone who doesnt understand and someone who doesnt care, an autistic doesnt KNOW to care! A narcissist knows but doesnt care anyway! I apologise if that answer was not a protest to other answers but I couldnt help feeling that it was trying to say that autistics simply do not care, which is not the case at all. Autistics and Narcissists are not the same.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 17th, 2007 at 9:07 pm and is filed under Ask and answer.