Autism and Empathy

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Im sure this has been discussed many times

One of the hallmarks people believe of autism spectrum disorders is a lack of empathy.
I always feel this is a trait far misunderstood mainly because- Many Autistic people in fact, and indeed DO
have empathy (in some cases overwhelmingly so !), but they cannot express it in the same ways.

The problem with this of course, is this is used to diagnosis Anti-Social behavior- most notably the foundation
of psychopathy. But IMO, autism is far different from psychopathy because of one key factor: INTENT

An autistic person may appear lacking empathy, may even manipulate, (rarely lie), and may seem as if they are
self centered. But with an autistic person, 9 times out of 10, they are not aware they are doing it. No ulterior
motive is present. They don't wish to cause harm to others. Also they are very bad liars.

Psychopaths , on the other hand, are well aware of what they are doing, enjoy taking advantage of others,
and enjoy lying. They realize they don't have empathy, and they do not care. Autistic people wish to express
empathy but are not sure how. Because usually we are so ingrained in our own acitivities and interests, we simply
forget to include others, not necessarily because we don't want to, but because we are simply not as in tune
with the world around us. Anyways, that is what I think!

Yes, there are a million existing threads on this topic. Enough to keep you reading for days.

Don't know if this is anything to do with autism, but I sometimes don't have empathy whereas other times I do have empathy, depending on the day and context.

Sometimes I feel other people lack empathy and sometimes I get told I am been offensive or insensitive.