Autism is a spectrum of disorders and can manifest in various ways in different people. They share difficulties in certain areas such as –
Social communication
They can have difficulty understanding verbal and non-verbal language when interacting with others. Some people have a too-literal understanding of other peoples speech. They can struggle to understand subtle changes in tone and gestures during conversations.
Social interaction
Autistic people can have difficulty understanding other peoples emotional states as well as their own . They can come across as uncaring and indifferent to others . They have trouble making friends and find social situations awkward.
Repetitive behaviours and routines
Autistic people often have highly ritualised behaviours such as carrying out daily activites in a set way. All of us can have routines in our lives to enable to carry out tasks in an efficent way such as when getting ready in the morning , however the routines in autistic people sometimes appear to not be productive in that way.
Restricted interests
Many autistic people have restricted interests which can vary from collecting objects to playing videogames. It is the unusual amount of time devoted to such interests to the detriment of social and other obligations that differentiate this problem.
Sensitivities to stimuli
Often autistic people can be unsually over- or under- senstitive to stimulus such as sounds, lights, touch etc.