Greetings Earthlings! 🙂

This week I’d like to talk about the random subject of autism and lying.

Well….I’d like to, but I can’t!

Many autists are notoriously honest and struggle to tell lies. Moreover, autists will often struggle to tell if someone is lying to them. You would be amazed at how many times the word “Really?!” comes out of my mouth before my brain catches on to a lie 🙈 We’re black and white thinkers who love rules and structure, so deception doesn’t come naturally to us, it breaks all the rules.

That being said, while most autists do struggle with lies, other autists can have tendencies towards pathological and compulsive lying. This often arises from learning how to lie through observation, or lying out of necessity to mask around others. As I’ve said in previous posts, sometimes it’s just easier to pretend that I’m not hungry in order to mask my sensory issues with food.

But is there any particular reason why lying is such a struggle?

In general, it’s not that we can’t tell lies, however, things start to fall apart when trying to maintain the lie. Researchers have found that while many autists can lie to cover up behaviours or tell white lies in order to be polite, once probed, autists struggle to maintain consistency. Would you believe, there is in fact a scientific explanation for this!

Executive functioning is our brains ability to control, regulate and manage all of our thoughts and actions. Examples of executive functioning include decision making, time management skills, prioritizing tasks, verbal reasoning, memory, problem solving etc. Up to a whopping 80% of autists may struggle with executive dysfunction. Executive functioning is essential to the art of lying- a lie must be constructed, rationalized, and planned out. If an autist struggles with any of these steps, the lie will fall apart.

So there you have it- I wouldn’t be an interesting suspect in an Agatha Christie murder mystery, I’d give the lies away instantly! 😂

Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings!

Have a lovely weekend! 🙂

Aoife