I believe that everyone believes s/he is socially perceptive (empathetic). Why? Because there is no way to compare unless you are able to suddenly acquire someone else’s perception and see what the difference is. Whatever you can perceive is the limit of your understanding of what “perception” is. What would it mean to say, “I’m socially imperceptive”? How would one know? I do not believe that those with Asperger’s Syndrome lack social perception. Their social perceptions are just as good as anyone else’s. The difference is the degree to which they are interested in social matters. As one person with Asperger’s described, they are “profoundly disinterested in people”. In other words, if there is a reason to be interested in people, they can be as perceptive as anyone else. They just don’t care. It’s like how most women don’t care about cars. Even if a red Ferrari drives by, they could care less whether it was a Honda or Ferrari. Does that mean their perceptions are impaired? No.
