Studying Psychology with an ASD diagnosis

[bigbluebus]

DS (HF ASD Dx) is currently considering which subjects to study in 6th form next year. He was thinking along the lines of 3 the sciences and maths, but after attending the Open Evening decided to look at some other subjects for his taster day. One of the subjects he is considering is Psychology, which after the taster session, he is really keen to do.
I see a lot of mention on here about 'Theory of Mind' and I am never sure with DS if he understands how other people think or if he 'gets' it but chooses to ignore in his responses and attitude!
So my question to you experts on ASD is "Do you think someone with an ASD diagnosis can successfully study this subject?" Will it help him have a better understanding of how his mind works or will it just be a struggle for him to understand the concepts (or maybe he will understand them but not be able to put them into context).

My Ds2 (22 dx Aspergers) is doing an Open University degree in Psychology. He is in his 2nd year and doing well. He is really enjoying it as he says it helps him to understand things.

This is entirely anecdotal and I am in no way an expert in ASD, but DH works in a psych dept and said that a particular student was doing very well academically but fell down on clinical practice side of things - and at the same time was being assessed and eventually diagnosed for ASD. He thinks there are areas where a person with HF ASD would do perfectly well, and other areas that require empathy and people skills, that might be more problematic. Of course, that's for degrees with a clinical component, and not all of them have this (I think).

Psychology can be practiced as a science, not just as "talking therapies". If he does well in science subjects I imagine he could do well in an academic setting. Most psychological research does hypothesis testing, and requires a lot of literature research. There are subjects within psychology that are almost biological, such a perception or neuro-psychology. Basically finding out how the brain works. Plus a lot of psychological research uses healthy NT participants, so there need not be a specific requirement for empathy or understanding others.
If he is very motivated, I can't see his ASD being a reason why he would not succeed.

It could lead onto autism studies etc which alot of people on the spectrum study eg Sheffield Hallam has a lecturer Luke Beardon who I have heard speak at conferences and he has a mixture of people with asd, parents and professionals taking his courses. Some adults with asd feel its very important they are involved in the science / debate about theory of mind etc, so I can't see why not.
Besides at 6th form its possible for you to pass by regurgitating the expected answers even if you can't put it into practice. I managed to pass trust law at Law School that way!

I think Agnes is right.
I work with children, but make whopping errors of judgement with my own
I know a top chef that struggles having to cook a meal for his 3 kids
I know a DR who has Aspergers, that never wants to work with patients, but has managed to always be employed in research.
Knowing a subject and how it can be applied is very different from living it!

It's common amongst girls/women with Aspergers to be interested in psychology and to follow it as a career. I suspect I've got AS (I tick all the boxes and DS who has a dx is just like me, we've the same traits) and I've just finished an honors degree in Psychology. I loved it, found it really interesting and didn't have much problem understanding it.

Thank you all for your replies. That is all very reassuring. DS is really interested in Forensics (and has a particular interest in ballistics!) so it was the criminal psychology aspect of the curriculum which interested him but he thought the rest of the course looked good too. He wouldn't be interested in career where he needed to use the theory in a setting such as counselling or being a clinical psychologist - he is more interested in studying medical science .

Counselling psychology is just one aspect of psychology there's loads of different routes he could go down that would suit him. I'd recommend speaking to a careers advisor to give him a more specific direction and to speak about his concerns if it will help.

panda A Careers Advisor - now that's a rare breed these days. DS is supposed to have one helping him as he is Statemented - but he hasn't seen anything of her since his 14+ review meeting. I think he gave the impression that he knew what he wanted to do, and as his school has a 6th form which he intends to stay on at - then she seems to have gone away!
I have been trying to get him to look at Science based Uni courses to see what subjects are required for Degrees he may want to study, as if he chooses Psychology, he will need to drop one of the other subjects he was thinking of taking - which will be another science - possibly Chemistry