Do adults with Asperger's Syndrome truly NOT have empathy or are they just unable to show empathy?

Answer 1

Subjects with Asperger's most certainly have empathy, and express it too. I refer you to Dr. Temple Grandin, who is probably the highest functioning Asperger's subject to date, and her extremely empathetic treatment of animals as expressed in her book, "Animals in Translation". That said, Asperger's -- an autism spectrum type disorder -- interferes with social communications more than the internal process of empathy itself (as would be more likely found in what we used to call sociopathy and now call ASD or Anti-Social Disorder). The empathy exists; the communications process is impaired. Comment: It was once believed that people with Asperger's Syndrome did not have empathy. It is now known that they do, although they are not necessarily able to express it. They seem better able to express it in writing, where real-time interaction (and trying to interpret nonverbal language) is not necessary.