Autistic people may: 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.
Social communication and social interaction challenges
Some autistic people are unable to speak or have limited speech while other autistic people have very good language skills but struggle to understand sarcasm or tone of voice. Other challenges include: taking things literally and not understanding abstract concepts.
Due to the behavioural, information processing and sensory aspects of their diagnosis, many people on the autism spectrum often prefer familiar environments with a predictable routine. Restricted and repetitive interests, sensory processing differences and heightened anxiety can make even small changes stressful.
The Triad of Impairments:
People with significant difficulties in all 3 areas (social interaction, communication and imagination) may have ASD. However, there can be other reasons for difficulties in these areas.
Many autistic people experience hypersensitivity to bright lights or certain light wavelengths (e.g., LED or fluorescent lights). Certain sounds, smells, textures and tastes can also be overwhelming. This can result in sensory avoidance – trying to get away from stimuli that most people can easily tune out.
Research shows that autistic people have a stronger aptitude for focusing on tasks. Autistic people tend to enjoy spending time concentrating for extended periods of time on activities that appeal to them, such as indulging in their “special interests” - ranging anywhere from trainspotting to being crafty.
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.
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.
They may be very sensitive to other people's thoughts. They may also find it hard to understand the stages of friendships, which can lead to confused emotions. They may struggle to cope with anxiety that could be linked to them not knowing what to say in conversations.
Empathy and autism. Some characterizations suggest that autistic people do not feel empathy. However, research indicates that rather than lacking empathy, autistic people may have imbalances in empathy skills compared with neurotypical people.
Some autistic people can experience difficulties making themselves understood, understanding what's being said to them, and understanding facial expressions and body language. This can cause considerable frustration and anxiety which may result in anger or distressed behaviour.
However, the fitness tests showed that aerobic fitness, flexibility and body mass index of children with autism spectrum disorders was similar to the children without autism. The strength test was the only one that children with autism spectrum disorders did not perform as well in, the study said.
Results: The main strengths identified from these data revealed cognitive advantages such as superior creativity, focus, and memory; increased efficiency and personal qualities such as honesty and dedication; and the ability to offer a unique autism-specific perspective.
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.
Autism can cause a person to miss many social cues such as facial expressions and verbal signals that are commonly used while interacting. If a person with autism says something that appears rude or offensive, it is most likely a result of missing or not being able to read typical social cues.
For instance, autistic people tend to be particularly honest, reliable, and loyal — some of the most important traits for a long-term relationship.
Conclusion: Our data suggest that nearly half of individuals with ASD have average or higher IQ. Boys with ASD are more likely to have average or higher IQ than girls. Patients with ASD and higher IQ remain at risk for not being identified.
Not All Autistics Are Mathematic Savants, But Many Have Above-Average Math Abilities. It turns out that, despite impressions, most ASD patients may not be any better at math than their counterparts at a particular age or developmental stage.
Aggression in autism can involve severe tantrums, anger, hostility, sudden-onset violent outbursts including self-harm and rage 'episodes'. Up to 20% of individuals with autism exhibit such violent behaviours.
It's common for children with ASD and anxiety to become extremely frightened in response to sensory stimuli.
High-functioning autism and anger may look like the following: Having a meltdown with crying and shouting. Trying to escape the situation, which may potentially put the child in danger. Exhibit aggressive behaviors towards others such as biting, smashing, hitting, kicking, or scratching.
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.
In comparison to neurotypical children, children with ASD showed less proneness to guilt, although all children showed relatively high levels of proneness to guilt. Greater ToM ability was related to more proneness to guilt and authentic pride in children with ASD.