Toward feeling, understanding, and caring: The development of empathy in young autistic children.

Not all children were given the full battery of tasks because of time constraints, and some children lacked data for the empathy variables. The experimenters knew which children had an autism diagnosis, and the autistic children were often tested at the autism institution. Autistic children had lower average IQ scores than non-autistic children, and their mothers had lower education levels and families had lower income. Emotion acknowledgment was measured only by parents’ reports about understanding their parents’ basic emotions. The tasks and questionnaires measured empathic responses typical of non-autistic children, such as comforting and facial or vocal responses. The study did not examine factors other than age, such as autistic traits, cognitive abilities, or the social learning environment. The autistic sample had no coexisting intellectual disabilities, very few girls, and received regular supports from the intervention center.

Do not conclude that autistic children are less empathic. Parents and experimenters gave different ratings, the tasks measured non-autistic behaviors such as comforting and facial or vocal responses, and the experimenters knew the autism diagnosis. The study also found that autistic children’s prosocial actions increased more over time than non-autistic children’s.