Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) occurs in all age groups. Severe forms of ASD are usually diagnosed in the early stages of a kid’s life. However, high-functioning people may not be diagnosed until later in their lives.
Here are certain signs that can be observed in autistic adults:
Avoiding eye contact
An autistic adult may avoid eye contact as it may be challenging for them. They do not like to look at someone’s eyes while talking to them. It is a common misconception that autistic individuals lack empathy, however, that is not true as making eye contact cause them anxiety.
Take things literally
Autistic adults may tend to take things literally. They may not understand sarcasm or phrases. They have a different way of processing information. They may take phrases like “it’s raining cats and dogs” or “I laughed my head off” literally.
Can’t relate to others
Autistic individuals may find it hard to understand what others are feeling. They have trouble relating to others’ thoughts or feelings. It is not that they lack emotions altogether, but they have difficulty in identifying emotions.
Prefer being alone
An autistic individual prefers to be on their own. It may take a great deal of time and effort for autistic individuals to develop the social skills needed to interact successfully with others.
Strict routine
Autistic people strictly adhere to certain routines, they may get very anxious if something in their routine changes. They may have an outburst when a change occurs in their routine.
Intense interests
Autistic people may have intense and highly-focused interests. These may be art, music, gardening, or numbers. Adults on the spectrum may consider these interests as a way to relieve stress or even an important strength. They may also develop an interest in collecting objects such as figurines or stones or milk bottle tops.
Repetitive behaviors
Repetitive behaviors are among the first signs of autism to emerge in childhood and are later seen in people across the autism spectrum. Autistic adults may exhibit repetitive movements, such as drumming fingers on a table or jiggling a leg.
They may also talk about the same subject in the same way over and over again.
Late diagnosis may help autistic adults understand why they feel in certain ways in certain situations. However, one must know that autism does not present the same signs in every individual.
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