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.
Fixation, or hyper-focusing on a specific interest, is a recognized feature of autism. Fixations, along with other features or symptoms of autism like repetitive behaviors and cognitive inflexibility, may appear from the outside to be symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Associative Thinking: Most individuals on the spectrum are associative thinkers rather than linear thinkers. In other words, one thought connects to another and so on through sometimes loose or seemingly irrelevant connections.
Young people with autism may find it difficult to multitask because they stick rigidly to tasks in the order they are given to them, according to new research.
Memorising and learning information quickly. Thinking and learning in a visual way. Logical thinking ability. May excel (if able) in academic areas such as science, engineering and mathematics as they are technical and logical subjects that do not heavily rely on social interaction.
Sensory Issues
Many people with autism experience sensory processing disorder. This is more commonly known as sensory overload. Noise, crowds, bright lights, strong tastes, smells, and being touched can feel unbearable to someone with HFA. This makes going to restaurants, movies, and shopping malls difficult.
find it hard to communicate and interact with other people. find it hard to understand how other people think or feel. find things like bright lights or loud noises overwhelming, stressful or uncomfortable. get anxious or upset about unfamiliar situations and social events.
A few different factors converge to explain why autistic people have an “overly full head” and disorganized thoughts, as well as why we may be scatterbrained, quick to lose oversight, and more prone to overstimulation and dysregulation. All these factors are likely caused by overconnectivity in the brain.
“Autistic people may also have trouble sorting different objects in the home. For example, we may not realize that the enormous pile of 'stuff' on the bed can be broken down into separate piles of clothes, books, papers, and trash, and therefore managed more easily.
She has suggested that autistic people's thinking styles fall into one of three categories: visual thinkers; verbal/logic thinkers; and musical/mathematical thinkers. Although each person falls predominantly into one category, one can have a mixture of two or three.
People with autism have trouble with organizational skills, regardless of their intelligence and/or age.
High-functioning autism means that a person is able to read, write, speak, and handle daily tasks, such as eating and getting dressed independently. Despite having symptoms of autism, their behavior doesn't interfere too much with their work, school, or, relationships.
If you're autistic and feel like logical thinking is one of your strengths, there's research to support this. Autistic people tend to have enhanced logic and deliberation skills, which may help to offset a reduced drive toward intuition and spontaneous decision-making.
Autistics tend to be detail-oriented and highly observant, able to spot issues that most would overlook.
She has discovered that people on the autism spectrum have increased sensitivity to visual motion in their peripheral field of vision, which affects how they perceive their environment and where they place themselves in time and space.
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.
Why might autistic people experience anxiety? Even though it is not part of the autism diagnostic criteria, many autistic people experience high levels of anxiety. Research varies but the consensus suggests that it might be common for around 40-50% of autistic people to receive a clinical diagnosis of anxiety.
Many biological conditions can lead to social difficulties, including autism. However, not all autistic individuals will display social awkwardness (though they may struggle inwardly). Moreover, not everyone who is socially awkward is autistic. And, in fact, they don't necessarily have a diagnosable condition.
Some research, for example that of Baron-Cohen, has concluded that those living with autism are lacking in the ability to identify and understand the thoughts and feelings of others and therefore do not tend to respond to these with appropriate emotion.
Some kids on the spectrum feel a constant need for affection because they are not sure when or if the attention will be available. Schedule 5 to 10 minutes every day when you can provide your youngster with undivided attention (i.e., no computer, T.V., cell phones, etc.).
Impairment in social functioning is a central feature of ASD. Typical social skill deficits include: initiating interactions, responding to the initiations of others, maintaining eye contact, sharing enjoyment, reading the non-verbal cues of others, and taking another person's perspective.
Level 3 ASD, formerly known as low-functioning autism, is the most severe form of autims. People with level 3 autism require very substantial support.
Low functioning autism refers to children and adults with autism who show the most severe symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder and are diagnosed as having Level 3 ASD. They are usually unable to live independently and require support from a guardian throughout their lives.