The key differences between shyness and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) lay within how we approach socialising. Of course, there are people on the spectrum who are also shy.
Yes, it is possible for a child to have both shyness and autism. In fact, many children with autism may also experience symptoms of anxiety or shyness in social situations.
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.
Although your son's reaction sounds more severe than most, many people with autism struggle with a range of fears, phobias and worries. These can range from a debilitating fear of, say, spiders or the dark to chronic anxiety about making mistakes or being late.
People with autism spectrum disorder are sometimes said to lack empathy (the ability to feel along with others) and/or sympathy (the ability to feel for others). While this stereotype is often used to describe all people with autism, these challenges are not experienced by everyone on the spectrum.
Associative Thinking: Most individuals on the spectrum are associative thinkers rather than linear thinkers. In other words, one thought connects to another and so on through sometimes loose or seemingly irrelevant connections.
Autistic people are four times as likely to experience depression over the course of their lives as their neurotypical peers. Yet researchers know little about why, or how best to help.
Many autistic people enjoy spending time alone and consider it important for their wellbeing.
Phobias – or unusual fears – have been a feature of autism. Some kids are scared of loud noises, while other kids fear other seemingly every-day, “shouldn't-be-scary” things, like running water, swings, or vacuum cleaners.
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.
Autistic people tend to experience sensory information differently to non-autistic people. We might experience some sensations in a heightened way.
An autistic person will feel emotions and will want to communicate emotions to those around them. However, it is not uncommon to encounter difficulties in expressing oneself. Indeed, people with autism spectrum disorder will encounter certain obstacles in recognizing various facial expressions.
Autistic people need a full night's sleep to get even close to enough REM sleep. When you fall asleep, you cycle between NREM and REM sleep. During NREM sleep, your brain moves memories from short-term storage to long-term storage.
Touch is an important component of many social experiences for many people. Autistic children commonly avoid social touch more than non-autistic peers. It is generally thought that this is due to autistic individuals experiencing hyper- or hyposensitivity of touch.
For instance, some children with ASD may appear disinterested when engaged in play or in response to affection from loved ones while others may have an overly affectionate child with autism. Individuals with autism can also have an aversion to touch.
Having nonspeaking autism means that an autistic person does not speak or can only say a few words. The term nonverbal, which many people use to describe these individuals, is inaccurate, as it encourages the incorrect assumption that nonspeaking autistic individuals are entirely unable to use words.
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.
Difficult social situations and sensory environments can increase stress and increase anxiety for autistic people. Another significant cause of anxiety is a sense of being misunderstood and/or not accepted by non-autistic people. To 'fit in' and not be seen as different, autistic people might mask or camouflage.
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.
Not all autistic people are introverts
For many autistic people, social interaction can be a challenge. However, that doesn't mean that all autistic people are introverts. In fact, many autistic people are extroverted and enjoy social events.
Many people in the autism community also prefer identity-first language. They view autism as a central and important part of their identity and take pride in it.
Differences in understanding social situations and relationships, and being misunderstood or not accepted by non-autistic people can all increase anxiety and stress. This can lead to low self-esteem, social isolation and loneliness. These can all contribute to depression.
Every person with autism manages their sensory input in a different way and their emotional regulation skills can vary. It's difficult to make any blanket statements on the signs of dysregulation, but generally, any kind of change in behavior can indicate that a person is having a hard time managing their emotions.
Rather than looking tired and sad, a depressed person who has autism may be irritable or agitated, or have emotional outbursts, according to research. Unfortunately, there are no lab tests or scans for depression. Doctors typically rely on a patient's ability to describe his feelings.