The Compassionate Brain Theory of Autism

In this paper I present the “Compassionate Brain Theory”, which is a wellbeing theory of autism rooted in compassion. At its core, this theory explores how a person’s distribution of compassion resources, balancing self-compassion and compassion for others, can impact their overall well-being. Specifically, a condition characterised by notable disparity - where compassion is predominantly directed towards others while being notably limited for oneself (referred to as the self-other imbalance) - is said to result in diminished mental and physical health, as well as reduced quality of life. In relation to autism, I put forward the hypothesis that significantly higher self-other imbalance will be found in autistic compared to non-autistic individuals. That is, on average, autistic people will display a highly compassionate brain profile, characterised by high compassion for others and low compassion for self. I further hypothesise that self-other imbalance will be associated with a person’s health outcomes. I present some initial data to lend support to this theory and explore potential directions for future research.