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I’ve had some very uncertain uncomfortable feelings around the idea of HSP for a while. That’s not to say that it might not be a really validating and valuable ID for some, but I’ve been uncomfortable about some of the characterisations when placed in contrast to autism.
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I just had a look at the site for the foundation behind HSP and... I kind of get more why I feel so uncomfortable now. There’s a whole FAQ section on ‘How does sensitivity differ from Autistic spectrum disorders (Asperger’s Syndrome, etc.)?’
https://hsperson.com/faq/hs-or-asd/
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https://hsperson.com/faq/hs-or-asd/
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And, I find its whole characterisation of autism really very pathologising and problematic, as well as outdated. I can’t help feeling like it’s attempting to distance itself from autism through listing DSM-based deficits contrasted with ‘sensitivity’, ‘carefulness’ etc.
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Behaviours from emotional dysregulation: “with ASDs, these behaviors are due to incorrectly processing perceptual stimulation all the time, not just when overstimulated.” It suggests that while with HSP the cause is largely external, for autistic folks it’s a permanent fault.
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It claims: “most but not all of the genes put boys more at risk [of autism] than girls.” and “There is a suspicion that the increase in ASDs could be caused by one or more of the zillion chemicals we are all ingesting these days.”
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These claims have no scientific backing, especially as we are identifying more autism in people of other genders.
There seems to be the deeply troubling assumption that autistic people have no ‘social empathy’, while HSP folks are misunderstood and traumatised.
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There seems to be the deeply troubling assumption that autistic people have no ‘social empathy’, while HSP folks are misunderstood and traumatised.
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These are deeply troubling and I think ableist ideas that I can’t help feeling seek to other autistic folks for the benefit of saying one group is sensitive and misunderstood, and the other diseased.
Autistic people ARE misunderstood and traumatised. We ARE empathetic.
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Autistic people ARE misunderstood and traumatised. We ARE empathetic.
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We do often struggle more with emotional regulation when overwhelmed, and the world can be very overwhelming. There ARE good reasons for our ‘strange fixations’.
Again I get why HSP has been valuable to some but this characterisation makes me sad and angry.
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Again I get why HSP has been valuable to some but this characterisation makes me sad and angry.
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I think it makes sense that with autism in women and other genders under-recognised, and autistic folks being characterised as emotionless, insensitive, or bizarre, there would be an attempt to create a new identity that is more sympathetic.
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But pushing others under the bus isn’t ok, just as it wasn’t/isn’t when folks separate out autism and Aspergers to say ‘at least I’m not like them’.
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And knowing what we know now, and the way understanding of neurodiversity is growing, I think we’d do a LOT better trying to understand why folks who are neurodivergent/part of neurominorities might struggle with the things that we do, and what connects and unites us.
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