An autistic person will feel emotions and will want to communicate emotions to those around them. However, it is not uncommon to encounter difficulties in expressing oneself. Indeed, people with autism spectrum disorder will encounter certain obstacles in recognizing various facial expressions.
Just as many autistic people are hypersensitive to senses such as sight and sound, they may also be hypersensitive to emotions, so may be much more significantly affected by emotional triggers than others. Their other areas of hypersensitivity can also contribute to a strong emotional reaction.
Around a half of autistic people have difficulties understanding and describing their own emotions. This is known as Alexithymia. Alexithymia can make anxiety feel worse for autistic people.
Autistic people can have difficulty recognizing emotional cues in social interactions, affecting how they read body language, tone of voice or facial expressions. This can lead to awkwardness, misunderstandings and even loneliness.
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. The new work is the largest yet to explore this issue.
For some autistic adults, emotions do not show, either on their face, in their body or in their tone of voice. The circuitry in the brain responsible for expression of emotion through the body and voice is working differently in autism.
While love is expressed and experienced differently from person to person, those with autism are fully capable of forming deep emotional connections. These can include love for their family, friends, romantic partners, or even interests and hobbies.
During a meltdown, we found that most autistics described feeling overwhelmed by information, senses, and social and emotional stress. They often felt extreme emotions, such as anger, sadness, and fear, and had trouble with thinking and memory during the meltdown.
Emotional development: autistic children and teenagers
For example, your autistic child might feel all negative or unpleasant emotions as anger. Or they might not recognise when they're excited. Or they might label all emotions that are hard to describe as 'being bored'.
While some people with autism merely yell or stamp, many really do become overwhelmed by their own emotions. 3 Bolting, hitting, self-abuse, crying, and screaming are all possibilities. These can be particularly frightening—and even dangerous—when the autistic individual is physically large.
Meltdowns are similar to the fight response. When an autistic person is having a meltdown they often have increased levels of anxiety and distress which are often interpreted as frustration, a 'tantrum' or an aggressive panic attack.
Autistic people can experience both hypersensitivity (over-responsiveness) and hyposensitivity (under-responsiveness) to a wide range of stimuli. Most people have a combination of both. Many autistic people experience hypersensitivity to bright lights or certain light wavelengths (e.g., LED or fluorescent lights).
Every autistic person is different, but sensory differences, changes in routine, anxiety, and communication difficulties are common triggers.
An autistic person will feel emotions and will want to communicate emotions to those around them. However, it is not uncommon to encounter difficulties in expressing oneself. Indeed, people with autism spectrum disorder will encounter certain obstacles in recognizing various facial expressions.
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.
The high-functioning person with autism is not a manipulative, scheming person who is trying to make life difficult. They are seldom, if ever, capable of being manipulative. Usually misbehavior is the result of efforts to survive experiences which may be confusing, disorienting, or frightening.
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.).
While this is not typically what you think of with tender, romantic love, it may cause a person with ASD discomfort if someone were to kiss them or hold their hand gently. For example, one teenager with autism who didn't like kissing at all, described that he felt it was just like smashing faces together.
The aversion to touch may be misunderstood as a lack of comfort with affection. Children with autism do experience and express affection – some may simply experience and express it differently than others.
Signs you are Masking Autism Through Pretending
☑ Conversations feel unnatural and don't flow smoothly. ☑ You often find yourself pretending to be "normal" in social situations. ☑ You rely on the support or presence of others to navigate social interactions.
It's true that many people with autism don't show emotion in ways that people without the condition would recognize. But the notion that people with autism generally lack empathy and cannot recognize feelings is wrong.
Mirroring movement is a simple play activity that involves copying someone's movements, like you're in a mirror. Mirroring movement activities help children with disability, autism or other additional needs improve their physical coordination and gross motor skills.
In addition to sensory triggers, certain chemicals found in everyday household products like cleaning supplies or air fresheners can also aggravate symptoms of autism. These chemicals include phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA), which have been shown to disrupt hormones and affect behavior in animal studies.