Dissanayake's research findings show that autistic children do exhibit a secure attachment towards their caregiver, from which we can infer that “nurturing the secure attachment relationship may represent a protective factor for these children.”
In all, the findings from research suggest that children with autism are capable of forming secure attachments with their caregivers. However, it also suggests that autistic children may be more prone to developing an insecure attachment than typically developing children.
Some kids on the spectrum feel a constant need for affection because they are not sure when or if the attention will be available.
People with autism may get easily attached to people, leading them to become over-friendly.
Children with a family history of autism tended to not show interest in their parents and they smiled and laughed less than low-risk toddlers. The children who were later diagnosed with autism at age 3 were among the least attentive.
Children with autism are often associated with aggressive behavior such as physical aggression and verbal aggression including yelling, screaming, tantrums, and outbursts. These challenging behaviors can be stressful for families to deal with every day at home or at school.
In fact, parents of autistic children report that they experience more depression, anxiety, and stress-related health problems than other parents. Parental stress has also been associated with marital distress, less effective parenting, and dropping out of treatment.
Children with an ASD are not vigilant and do not look up to the caregiver for social referencing. They may not cling to the caregiver, although go up to them for succor. However, some cling to the caregiver because of extreme anxiety.
They may avoid interactions or eye contact or even resist parental attention, hugs, or cuddling. There has been more research into the reasoning behind this, but many times it results in people with autism being defensive against touch.
Many autistic people enjoy spending time alone and consider it important for their wellbeing.
Autistic children love their parents
You may have to learn to see how your child expresses affection and not take it personally if your child doesn't show affection in the way that typical children do.
However, for children and adults with autism, who also often experience mental health challenges, attention-seeking behaviors have the potential to put them at risk. Learning how to recognize these behaviors, and when to intervene, will help children with autism cope and properly respond to negative emotions.
Jealousy is a tough emotion to deal with because it may not appear as jealousy when it surfaces. Jealousy in children with autism and their siblings may look different. For their siblings, jealousy can appear as anger or deep sadness and retreat from a typically developing sibling.
A new study challenges the theory that autism is largely passed down from mothers. In fact, siblings who are both diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) seem to get a larger portion of their DNA from their father.
Due to its lower prevalence in females, autism was always thought to have a maternal inheritance component. However, research also suggests that the rarer variants associated with autism are mostly inherited from the father.
Love and affection may be felt but expressed differently
They may show love, for example, through a practical act, and tidy up for you, or iron your shirt, rather than through a more neurotypical way of looking at you and telling you or using physical affection.
Some people with autism don't instinctively think to give kisses or hugs and tell you they love you, so their partner often has to be the one to initiate these things.
Does autism affect sexual interest, behavior, and intimacy? Being autistic doesn't mean a person is uninterested in sex. In fact, most people on the autism spectrum want to have romantic relationships, sexual relationships, or both.
Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment
This trait can occur in autism because autistics tend to make friends and lose them repeatedly. However, unlike in BPD, the issue of abandonment may be a reality for autistics because while we may be able to make friends, maintaining them is difficult.
Children with autism express anxiety or nervousness in many of the same ways as typically developing children do. We often see separation anxiety, for example, when children must part with trusted parents or caregivers to go to school or camp.
Autistic children and teenagers experience a range of emotions, but they might need support to recognise, understand and manage their emotions. For example, your autistic child might feel all negative or unpleasant emotions as anger. Or they might not recognise when they're excited.
A child with ASD can be challenging—they may be restless; have trouble sleeping, eating or speaking; experience seizures; or have meltdowns born of frustration or overstimulation. Expectations for a “normal” life may need to be adjusted.
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.