Autistic boys often focus on what could be considered unusual subjects, like the inner workings of machinery or train timetables, for example. Autistic girls, on the other hand, commonly develop strong interests in things that are considered more typical of girls their age, such as books, dolls, or celebrities.
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.
Playing Noncompetitive Games and Sports
Swimming, biking and dancing are all fun things that don't involve competition. You can also change the rules of competitive games and sports to build friendships and show your loved one a wide range of fun things to do with other people.
Autistic children often enjoy sensory toys because they help them feel calm and engage their senses in a positive way. Sensory toys can include weighted stuffed animals, fidget toys, and putty. When looking for a toy for an autistic child, keep in mind their interests and their developmental stage.
These interests are extremely common among people with autism: 75 to 95 percent have them. An interest may involve collecting items such as postcards or dolls, listening to or playing music in a repetitive way, or focusing intensely on a narrow topic, such as insects fighting.
With autism their play may be repetitive but not raise suspicions if it remains in the realms of gender specific toys and activities. Girls sometimes develop narrow and obsessive interests in collecting insects, stones, leaves or a variety of other random objects or items.
Science fiction and fantasy are often of great interest to autistic people. Depending on their interest levels and abilities, people on the spectrum may learn every detail of a particular "universe," write their own stories, watch and rewatch movies, read comics, attend conventions, or even make their own costumes.
Focus on the positive. Just like anyone else, children with autism spectrum disorder often respond well to positive reinforcement. That means when you praise them for the behaviors they're doing well, it will make them (and you) feel good. Be specific, so that they know exactly what you liked about their behavior.
Individual sports are great for a child with autism, particularly martial arts such as karate, capoeira, judo and jiu-jitsu. It's worth noting that we don't recommend martial arts as a sport if your child is aggressive or cannot control themselves.
Some people with autism may have the ability to sense emotional needs in someone else, even if they are not outwardly visible. In such cases, they may show love by doing something, rather than saying something, in unique ways.
Some signs of high functioning autism in females include: Difficulty with social communication, such as maintaining eye contact or understanding sarcasm. Strong interests in specific topics, often related to science or technology. Difficulty with transitions or changes in routine.
Autistic girls tended to have one or two best friends rather than a larger group, which is different to neurotypical girls, but their friendships were distinctive from the friendships of autistic boys.
Your child might get upset if they aren't allowed to touch. Your child might get upset if too much is happening around them, if they find a particular noise overwhelming, or if the light is too bright.
About three out of four autistic adults have depression or anxiety, and difficulties with managing emotions are believed to influence these problems. Emotion dysregulation may look different in adults.
Although this can sometimes feel challenging, it is important to recognize three very simple factors that every person with ASD needs: safety, acceptance and a sense of competence.
Children with ASD often need a hug, just like other children. Sometimes they need this much more than other children. But some children don't like to be touched. Respect their personal space.
Between us: Autistic girls use plural personal pronouns such as 'they' and 'us' almost twice as often as autistic boys do. During conversations, girls with autism use “we,” “they” and other words related to social groups differently than autistic boys do, according to a new study.
Key points. Widespread stereotypes suggest that people with autism are incapable of feeling romantic love. In reality, people with autism can experience romantic love and often attach considerable value to their close relationships.
Sensory hyperreactivity seems to be especially pronounced in autistic females, so much so that many claim sensory issues are the defining feature of their autism.
Children and adults with autism spectrum disorder often care deeply but struggle to spontaneously develop empathic and socially connected typical behavior. Individuals with ASD often want to interact socially but lack the ability to spontaneously develop effective social interaction skills.