Is the issue really a low level of empathy, or simply communication differences between ND and NT individuals? I think NDs and NTs probably have similar levels of empathy, but if a person doesn't really have experience with a situation it may be hard to imagine that experience and then empathize. We all know how hard it is to get NTs to understand our anxiety, sensory issues, etc. They tell us we have low empathy because we're in the minority and there's more of them for us to misunderstand, so they feel they're right and we're wrong. But, that's not really fair or correct. We're supposed to have low empathy if we misunderstand them, but if an ND gets upset for not being heard or understood, this is called a "behavior issue," not lack of empathy on the NT's part. I think the truth is NTs can most easily empathize with NTs, and NDs can most easily empathize with NDs. Much of the language used to describe ASD is from an NT, not an ND, perspective, unfortunately.