Many autistic people have intense and highly-focused interests, often from a fairly young age. These can change over time or be lifelong. It can be art, music, gardening, animals, postcodes or numbers.
Special interests can seem to arrive from nowhere and last for weeks, months or even years. One thing is fairly certain – when one interest ends it will be replaced by another.
For people with autism, the predictability that is found in habits and routine is both calming and critical. Cultivating new habits, while challenging, often leads to personal growth and improved quality of life.
Sometimes, people with autism have a harder time regulating their emotions. They may rely on unique self-soothing strategies to deal with intense emotions, and either seek out or avoid sensory stimuli like bright lights, loud sounds and intense smells.
People with autism often experience love differently from neurotypical people. Their expression of love is less straightforward, as they tend to rely heavily on non-verbal communication. This can mean that those who are neurotypical may find it difficult to interpret the signs of affection.
The pressure to date causes many individuals with autism to move too fast in relationships. Sometimes, the pressure to date causes neurodiverse individuals to enter into relationships too quickly and not fully vet the partner they are dating.
These traits can include anything from jealousy to anger issues to anxiety — anything that seems to be getting in the way of a satisfying relationship. Again, this doesn't just apply to the autistic person in the relationship. Both people should be willing to admit when their own traits and habits are a problem.
People with autism spectrum disorder are sometimes said to lack empathy (the ability to feel along with others) and/or sympathy (the ability to feel for others). While this stereotype is often used to describe all people with autism, these challenges are not experienced by everyone on the spectrum.
Though autistic people may respond to emotions and social cues differently than neurotypical people, this does not mean they lack empathy. Just like neurotypical people, levels of empathy vary between autistic individuals.
Many successful autistic individuals consider themselves to be very happy with many reporting their happiness increased once they stopped comparing themselves to others, cultivated a more suitable environment around them and began to feel 'comfortable in their own skin.
Non-autistic people tend to assess concepts before details, also known as top-down thinking. Autistic people take the opposite approach with bottom-up thinking and use details to build concepts. It may take longer to filter out sensory details with this approach, but you're less likely to miss important information.
Often individuals with autism struggle to make friends because they're fearful of being vulnerable, experiencing social anxiety, and struggle with the social skills necessary to make new friends.
Many autistic people have intense and highly-focused interests, often from a fairly young age. These can change over time or be lifelong. It can be art, music, gardening, animals, postcodes or numbers. For many younger children it's Thomas the Tank Engine, dinosaurs or particular cartoon characters.
Better understanding of theory of mind was related to greater proneness to guilt and pride, but only for children with ASD. These findings are important because these complex emotions are linked with both positive and negative social behaviors towards others and oneself.
Analytical Thinking: People with an autism spectrum disorder think in a logically consistent way that leads to quick decision making. These thinkers can make decisions without experiencing the framing effect that inhibits most neurotypicals from making decisions without bias.
Autistic people have a lot to contend with. The difficulties they experience in everyday life – due, for example, to communication and sensory differences - may lead to feelings of frustration and anger.
Facial expressions smooth social interactions: A smile may show interest, a frown empathy. People with autism have difficulty making appropriate facial expressions at the right times, according to an analysis of 39 studies1. Instead, they may remain expressionless or produce looks that are difficult to interpret.
Research suggests autistic people may be more likely to experience depression than non-autistic people and estimates that it affects up to half of all autistic people at some point in their life. Depression is treatable and with the right support, you can feel better.
How Does Autism Affect Intimacy in Sexual Relationships? Intimacy is the sharing of emotional, cognitive, and physical aspects of oneself with those of another individual. People with autism often have problems with rigidity and the need for repetition, which may limit the spontaneity and playfulness of sexual contact.
For those looking for a long-term relationship, you may have a lot in common with an autistic person. A 2010 study found that autistic people tend to be much more interested in long-term relationships compared with short-term flings.
People with autism may get easily attached to people, leading them to become over-friendly. It can be difficult to understand other people's perceptions of situations, therefore what they feel is appropriate, may be considered as socially unacceptable.