Professionals have characterized autistics as having impaired Theory of Mind – the ability to imagine the feelings and thoughts of others in order to comprehend and predict their behavior (Baron-Cohen, 1997).
It is also called “perspective taking”, and can explain to neurotypical people why an autistic does not provide relevant background information when telling a story, does not understand sarcasm, does not provide nonverbal cues to let the other know they do not understand, does not repair communication when it breaks down, and appears not to have empathy.