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Mirror Sensory Synesthesia and the Nuances of Autism

 I have been doing a little bit of research on mirror sensory synesthesia after becoming aware of the term mirror emotion synesthete, which resonated with me. I heard the term from an Autistic therapist on Twitter and decided to look into the wider picture a little bit. I now recognize myself as a mirror emotion synesthete, but I also experience other mirror sensory synesthesia as well, such as the feeling of pain in others almost as if it were my own. Being a mirror emotion synesthete means that I can feel other people's emotions.

Synesthesia is a blending of the senses, and while it may seem bizarre to others that I can feel and see music, it is not all that uncommon in Autism. It may also go against your preconceived notions of Autism that I am hyper-empathetic to the point of feeling other people's emotions, but this is also not as uncommon as once thought. Autistics do not necessarily lack empathy, although some of us exhibit it in a much different way than allistics (non-Autistics).

What I would like everyone who reads this to take from it is that Autism is a varied neurotype that can exhibit itself in more ways than many other neurotypes. In neurobiological terms, every Autistic seems to have a different pathway of connectivity in our brains to the point of being more diverse than neurotypical people. If you have not read it, I highly recommend the book Unmasking Autism by Devon Price, PhD, which is what I am currently reading. The information about mirror emotion synesthesia, I obtained from an Autistic therapist on Twitter and then further looked into scholarly articles about mirror sensory synesthesia and the ability to feel another's pain as if it were your own. Sometimes I feel like I feel other people's pain more than my own even. It is not uncommon for Autistic people to have a different reaction to pain than allistics, which often leads to doctors and other healthcare workers doubting our needs. 

What I hope you learned from this is that Autistic experiences are very diverse, coming from all spheres, including gender identity, race, sexual orientation, and various other minorities and is not a strictly "male" neurodivergence, which much of the past literature seemed to tout and leads to underdiagnosis in people who may need accommodations and have been masking their whole life. 

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