Autism

Autism

You’ve always felt different, but didn’t know why. An autism spectrum disorder diagnosis can help shine a light on why certain things have always been difficult, while others came easily.

ASD occurs in all age, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. It is generally characterized by social and communication difficulties and by repetitive behaviors. More severe forms of ASD are often diagnosed in the first two years of a child’s life, but less severe forms may be diagnosed much later in life. Symptoms occur in three main areas:

• Social interactions
• Verbal and nonverbal communication
• Repetitive or ritualistic behaviors

Adults with autism can be high functioning and have only mild challenges, or they can have more severe symptoms, like impaired spoken language, that interfere with everyday life. No two people with ASD will have the same symptoms manifested in the same way. More people than ever are being diagnosed with ASD.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is typically a lifelong condition, though a small percentage of children do outgrow it thanks to early diagnosis and treatment. Common symptoms of ASD in adults include:

• Difficulty interpreting what others are thinking or feeling
• Trouble interpreting facial expressions, body language, or social cues
• Difficulty regulating emotion
• Trouble keeping up a conversation
• Inflection that does not reflect feelings
• Difficulty maintaining the natural give-and-take of a conversation; prone to monologues on a favorite subject
• Tendency to engage in repetitive or routine behaviors
• Only participates in a restricted range of activities
• Strict consistency to daily routines; outbursts when changes occur
• Deep knowledge of one particular topic, such as a certain branch of science or industry

Adults can also exhibit repetitive behaviors and have specific, extreme interest in a particular topic like a sports teams or area of history. These interests may border on obsessions.