As I was trying to figure out a possible topic for this week’s article, I faced a situation where I needed to explain if I could be an unbiased voter in a situation of personal involvement, which I said, “of course,” with a little “go autism” at the end — which understandably raised questions. I naively assumed that those who might not know much about autism know about our niche little superpower of being the best judge, even in super personally-conflicting situations. However, I’ll let you be the judge as you read about autism and being judgy!
Let’s define a few things (which is always a good place to start). Every day, everyone faces endless big and small decisions — from what to wear and eat to choosing a career or relationship. In most instances, you weigh the pros and cons, get advice from others, and do some quick personal research to decide. However, if a decision you make impacts another person, how does your relationship with that person affect your decision? If you give out a scholarship, will you give it to a random Jane Doe or your child? Or if you are overseeing a disciplinary hearing, will you acquit your spouse in the face of compelling evidence? In most cases, abstaining is expected — the best way to negate a personally-biased vote is not to vote!
With that in mind, the question is, how does autism affect this? Well, a prevalent trait of autism is that individuals with autism love, and I mean LOVE, rules. Whether it be who rolls first in a game of Monopoly or following the law, individuals with autism often follow the rules to the tee without training or thought. I was home last weekend and reading up on a psych evaluation from when I was three years old, which repeatedly explains how I cried whenever someone broke a rule (narc for life?).
Part of the reason for this is the impact of autism on the brain. Autism leaves the brain with more synapses in the prefrontal cortex (which controls rationalism and logical thinking) and fewer synapses in the amygdala (which controls emotions). This combination often leaves individuals with autism thinking more logically rather than emotionally. So essentially, if facing a decision where they may know the person they are deciding upon, neurotypical individuals may have about 50% logical thoughts and 50% emotional/social thinking. Individuals with autism, on the other hand, may have closer to 75% logical or even more, essentially making it less likely for us even to be able to be biased in a situation, simply because the emotional part of our brain that would be biased cannot overpower the logical prefrontal cortex.
Individuals with autism often struggle with the lack of bias and overabundance of logical thinking in daily life. While it can have benefits in professional situations (like disciplinary decisions), it can make it more difficult to navigate social situations and interact with peers, but that’s a topic for another article. So, is a non-biased autism brain a superpower or not? Depends if you’re biased!
