It's common for children with ASD and anxiety to become extremely frightened in response to sensory stimuli. Perhaps – like many individuals with autism – your son also has difficulty telling you what's scaring him. Instead, he may show his fear with extreme avoidance of a situation.
Toddlers with autism show less fear when confronted with something scary than do typical children or those with developmental delay. This lack of fear may explain why toddlers with autism often run into traffic or deep bodies of water.
Many children also had common childhood fears and phobias (including fear of dogs, bugs, spiders, snakes, the dark, doctors, barbers, monsters, people in costumes, mechanical toys, sleeping alone, fire, and swimming), which increased the overall proportion of children with autism who had intense fears and phobias to ...
However, social anxiety – or a fear of new people and social situations – is especially common among kids with autism. If your child suffers from anxiety, he may experience strong internal sensations of tension. This can include a racing heart, muscular tensions, sweating and stomachache.
Anxiety symptoms and reactions are very common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). They can interfere with functioning across home, community and school settings. Although your son's reaction sounds more severe than most, many people with autism struggle with a range of fears, phobias and worries.
Children with autism may experience intense anxiety as a result of issues with emotional flexibility. For example, a change in routine or environment may trigger episodes of anxiety. Social anxiety, or the fear of new people and social situations.
Here's the reality: every child will throw a tantrum at some point, whether they have an autism diagnosis or not. But for children with autism, tantrums can be more frequent, distressing, and difficult to quell.
Among those with autism, common triggers include disturbing breaks in routine, lack of sleep, jarring “sensory stimuli” (noises, lights, or smells) or even undiagnosed mental health problems. Clearly, it's important to look beyond the behavior itself to identify the underlying cause.
Kids with autism experience “deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to the absence of interest in peers (DSM-5).”
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.
Science fiction and fantasy are often of great interest to autistic people. Depending on their interest levels and abilities, people on the spectrum may learn every detail of a particular "universe," write their own stories, watch and rewatch movies, read comics, attend conventions, or even make their own costumes.
An autistic child's physical appearance is normal. She may not like to be touched or held. She may have strange, repetitive behaviors. She may seem to be in her own world and lack interest in other people.
Research suggests autistic people are more prone to experiencing anxiety and estimates that up to half of all autistic people experience high levels of anxiety on a regular basis. If you or someone you know is struggling with high levels of anxiety, there is support and help available.
At times, that helps them manage their symptoms. And sometimes children seem to age out of some autism signs. Interestingly, researchers say that around 30% of children with autism have less-severe symptoms at the age of 6 years than they did at the age of 3 years.
Autistic people have a lot to contend with. The difficulties they experience in everyday life – due, for example, to communication and sensory differences - may lead to feelings of frustration and anger.
Autistic children sometimes express their emotions through aggressive behaviour towards others. Sometimes their aggressive behaviour can be directed towards themselves. This is called self-injurious behaviour. They might hit, kick, throw objects or hurt themselves – for example, by head-banging.
Kids with autism may screech or yell when overwhelmed or frustrated. Some autistic children bolt from the room, hit others, or even injure themselves when upset. Children on the spectrum may not look directly at a person when speaking. Autistic kids may rock, flick, or pace when they are expected to sit still.
being irritable, which can include shouting or physical aggression. fidgeting or stimming more (repetitive movements or noises) getting frustrated over small things. having difficulty focusing.
One of the difficulties of autistic children is sensory disturbances (sensory sensitivities, sensory thresholds). Noisy environments, too many people around, or annoying people can be unbearable for children. Therefore, children scream to warn and denounce.
Many autistic people enjoy spending time alone and consider it important for their wellbeing. Loneliness is different though. You might feel lonely if you don't have opportunities to socialise, or find this difficult. You might have friends/colleagues but feel misunderstood, or like you cannot be yourself around them.
Emotional development: autistic children and teenagers
For example, your autistic child might feel all negative or unpleasant emotions as anger. Or they might not recognise when they're excited. Or they might label all emotions that are hard to describe as 'being bored'.