Recognizing Adult Autism Symptoms
September 30, 2008
I wanted to talk to you about being able to recognize the adult autism symptoms that some people may exhibit. Adults don’t actually develop autism, but in a lot of cases many people are not diagnosed and grow up without actually knowing. Of course, the likelihood of finding an adult with severe autistic symptoms is quite rare. It is possible for a person with mild symptoms to make it into adulthood without a medical professional knowing that there could be an issue. Often it can be misdiagnosed as ADD or ADHD. I think it is very important to be able to recognize adult autism symptoms because it makes you a more effective person when communicating with them.
If you look at the severe cases of autism that make it to adulthood, there are a lot of big warning signs that will alert you to the problem. The obvious ones are communication problems. They might not be able to speak to you or even listen to you properly. You may feel frustrated that you’re investing into a conversation with them, but they’re not reciprocating. Often adults with severe cases won’t be working a day job. It’s just practically impossible, since they don’t have the skills to do it. It’s even more likely that they can’t properly take care of themselves and require assistance from a loved one or professional.
The adult autism symptoms of a more mild case are a little harder to see, for the average the person. Normally if they’re function in the real world, they have the basic skills of communication to function. You may notice that you feel they’re ADD or ADHD because of some autistic behavior. Autistic people will tend to repeat things and push the conversation back to an old subject over and over again. You may view that as an inability to pay attention, when it really is the repetitive tendencies caused by autism.
Adult autism symptoms expand further when it comes to the repetitive nature of the person. You may view them as a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). You may see them doing the same repetitive things over and over again. Naturally you’d assume OCD, but it could quite possible be an autistic tendency coming out.
Another symptom you may notice is that they could disassociate themselves from everyone. They could be closed off from the group and not want to participate. This is a very common behavior of autism. They maybe able to perfectly communicate, but they still lack those basic capabilities of relating to others. You may have viewed them as a shy person or a bit of a loner, but it could be an autistic behavior.
I’d like to finish by explaining to you that these are just basic views on adult autism symptoms. As you can tell, a lot of regular people can have these behaviors. There are shy people in this world. There are people that always bring the subject of conversation back to something because they’re genuinely interested in it. It’s important not to assume that someone has autism, just to be aware of it.
There is a great resources with a lot more information at autism symptoms.
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i personally think my son has mild autism i was diganosed at having add as a child but the more i look at the symptoms of mild autism they seem to resemble me very scary for me becuase what do people really think of me. i could never figure out why most people at work treat me so nice but won’t make a friendship with me. i worry what they really think