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.
The popular image of a person with autism is a quiet, isolated individual who prefers solitude to social interaction. This is often true, but by no means always the case. While autistic people, by definition, have challenges with social communication, many enjoy social interaction, group activities, and friendships.
Autistic adults are often lonelier than nonautistic adults. Loneliness for both autistic and nonautistic adults was related to social skills and dissatisfaction with social support.
When your child can reset alone, they can process their emotions and thoughts better. For many autistic kids, it's a stress release to be alone, a time to shed whatever anxious thoughts built up during the day.
Some people on the autism spectrum may seek social opportunities and may initiate social interactions themselves, others may enjoy social situations and interactions when they are initiated effectively by others.
They may be very sensitive to other people's thoughts. They may also find it hard to understand the stages of friendships, which can lead to confused emotions. They may struggle to cope with anxiety that could be linked to them not knowing what to say in conversations.
Most autistic people want to and can make friends, though their relationships often have a distinctive air.
Given these social difficulties, one might expect that children and adolescents with ASD are at increased risk for experiencing feelings of loneliness. Several studies have shown that children and adolescents with ASD indeed report higher levels of loneliness relative to their non-clinical peers [14, 16–20].
Many autistic people have intense and highly-focused interests, often from a fairly young age. These can change over time or be lifelong. It can be art, music, gardening, animals, postcodes or numbers.
In some cases, the partners react in ways that only inflame insecurities or escalate conflicts. For example, after an argument, the neurotypical partner might feel stressed out and unheard, while the autistic partner grows distant and resentful. As problems reoccur, the relationship becomes more and more strained.
The aversion to touch may be misunderstood as a lack of comfort with affection. Children with autism do experience and express affection – some may simply experience and express it differently than others.
While many people with autism may appear to lack empathy and sympathy, it is not the case for all people with autism. For those who struggle with displaying appropriate empathetic responses, the reasons may relate more to social communication issues than a lack of underlying emotional response.
While it is true that autistic people often have a harder time reading social cues, this does not necessarily demonstrate lack of empathy. This research has resulted in the significant conclusion that people living with autism do not care, and consequently lack a fundamental aspect of being a compassionate human.
Although autistic people may struggle to interact with others, many autistic people have said they find interacting with other autistic people more comfortable.
While some people with autism merely yell or stamp, many really do become overwhelmed by their own emotions. 3 Bolting, hitting, self-abuse, crying, and screaming are all possibilities. These can be particularly frightening—and even dangerous—when the autistic individual is physically large.
Level 1 is the mildest, or “highest functioning” form of autism, which includes those who would have previously been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Individuals with ASD level 1 may have difficulty understanding social cues and may struggle to form and maintain personal relationships.
So-called 'lower-order' repetitive behaviors are movements such as hand-flapping, fidgeting with objects or body rocking, and vocalizations such as grunting or repeating certain phrases. 'Higher-order' repetitive behaviors include autism traits such as routines and rituals, insistence on sameness and intense interests.
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.
While love is expressed and experienced differently from person to person, those with autism are fully capable of forming deep emotional connections. These can include love for their family, friends, romantic partners, or even interests and hobbies.
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.
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 possible trigger might be the realization that he/she is different than friends and family. Children also may find it more difficult to cope with pressures and social interaction when they begin school. They may struggle to make friends, which could make them feel lonely.
It's always a learning curve in the beginning. And there are always challenges and benefits to each person you date. For instance, autistic people tend to be particularly honest, reliable, and loyal — some of the most important traits for a long-term relationship.
There are other brain disorders that mimic autism symptoms, like ADHD and anxiety disorders, including selective mutism. Autism can be misdiagnosed as another disorder with some shared symptoms.