Judgements of self-understanding in adolescents with Asperger syndrome.

Dritschel et al. (2010) asked teens with Asperger syndrome a simple question: Who knows your thoughts better—you or someone else?

They gave kids a short story about a boy choosing a snack. Then they asked, "Who knows why he picked it—himself or a classmate?"

Typical teens said the boy knows his own reason. The team wanted to see if autistic teens agreed.

Most teens with Asperger syndrome picked the classmate. They said another person understands the boy’s mind better than the boy himself.

Typical teens picked the boy himself. This gap shows autistic teens may not treat their own thoughts as special or private.

Szatmari et al. (2008) saw the same pattern first, but with adults. Their study set up the task Marie used two years later.

Wojcik et al. (2014) looks like a clash. They found autistic teens judge their own memory just fine. The twist: Z tested study skills, not social self-knowledge. Memory monitoring stays intact; social self-trust does not.

Robinson et al. (2017) extend the picture. They link weak self-knowledge to thin, dry autobiographical memories. Fewer vivid stories about themselves may feed the "others know me better" view.

When a teen says "you know me better than I do," he hands over control. Social-skills lessons should shore up first-person authority. Start small: after a role-play, ask, "Why did you choose that reply?" Praise any self-reason, no matter how brief. Over time, the student learns his own voice counts most.