>>11551609Its not that they lack self awareness. Lots of "normal" people lack self awareness. Autistic people have weak notion of "others" personhood/mind. I found out myself that I didn't see others as having a mind/personhood for the longest time(until my mid-late 20s). Even now I have to force myself and recall this notion that others have a mind/personhood when I interact with others. Its not a natural/intuitive response from autistic people.
How does this lack of knowledge/familiarity with other's "personhood" affect autistic person's life? Well, for one thing, it can make them seem aloof/distant. What it basically does for me is shuts down the simulation of others/world when I'm not focused on others. I can force myself to imagine what others might imagine/think, but its not a natural response. For the longest time, I was not aware that other people would "hang out" with each other or have social life after school/class. I've gone straight home after school or work, having never understood that people have "lives" outside of their work/school.
So you see, its not that autistic people dont have self-awareness. They do, I do. Its that we have a hard time understanding that OTHERS have self-hood.
