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.
Video games have the advantage of helping to improve fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and cognitive development such as problem-solving and decision-making. They can also offer a sense of accomplishment and success, which can be beneficial for autistic teens who struggle with self-esteem and self-worth.
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.
Key points. Autistic people tend to experience emotional regulation issues. They may find it difficult to appraise emotional situations, or may suppress their emotional responses. Good appraisal skills are linked to positive mental well-being and suppression is linked with depression.
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.
Sand, Slime, or Putty
These allow your child to play while also developing fine motor skills. Children can play with the substance alone or they can incorporate other objects as well. Also, the substances are often brightly colored, appealing to their visual senses.
Due to sensory sensitivities, someone with autism might: display unusual sensory seeking behaviour such as sniffing objects or staring intently at moving objects. display unusual sensory avoidance behaviours including evasion of everyday sounds and textures such as hair dryers, clothing tags, vacuum cleaners and sand.
Autism support in Fayetteville often focuses on choosing fun social activities for adults with autism, including storytelling, gymnastics, sports, and card games. Many individuals with autism find that engaging in social activities helps with their communication skills and ability to work within a group.
To find out, I asked a whole bunch of Autistics from different walks of life. Here are their responses. “The feeling behind a special interest is close to the feeling behind a relationship – you meet an idea, or a hobby, and in the early stages you have to spend time with it and learn more about it.
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.
Autism and love can be challenging because your partner may not always be able to read your emotions. Keep in mind that autism involves difficulty with communication, so dating someone with autism means that your partner may not be able to tell from your body language or tone of voice that you are upset.
To support a girl on the autism spectrum, love, accept, and encourage her for exactly who she is. Understand that the social environment of school may feel confusing, exhausting or unpleasant, and be sure to provide her with a space that is welcoming, understanding, and sensory friendly.
Some autistic people might like more 'obvious' forms of flirting like grand gestures, crafting things for someone or writing letters.
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.).
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.
Individual sporting activities such as Track, Skiing, Hiking, Golf, Cycling, or Cross-Country allow individuals with autism to participate in recreation without social interactions that might cause stress.
Special interests are frequently developed by individuals with autism spectrum disorder, expressed as an intense focus on specific topics. Neurotypical individuals also develop special interests, often in the form of hobbies.
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.
Blues clues: Young autistic girls tend to have behaviors that resemble depression, such as crying excessively. Autistic children who have behavioral problems tend to have an enlarged right amygdala, a brain region that helps process emotions and detect threats.
She is keen to keep the interaction going. Other signals are she readily agrees with your point of view; asks your opinion of her; often laughs at your jokes; and engages with what you are saying.