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. For many younger children it's Thomas the Tank Engine, dinosaurs or particular cartoon characters.
Hobbies such as collecting stamps, playing cards or board games, drawing and photography can also provide opportunities for enjoyment, as well as increased self-confidence and motivation individuals on the spectrum.
The majority of children and adults with Asperger syndrome live well and are able to enjoy life and do many things that neurotypical people can do. Many people will have some level of difficulty with some daily tasks or interactions.
Camping, reading a book, singing, playing tennis, dancing, and listening to music are just some of the recreational activities that adults with autism might enjoy with their loved ones.
Aspies tend to express love through practical actions, whereas NTs are more likely to express love through words or symbolic actions.
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. For many younger children it's Thomas the Tank Engine, dinosaurs or particular cartoon characters.
These interests are extremely common among people with autism: 75 to 95 percent have them. An interest may involve collecting items such as postcards or dolls, listening to or playing music in a repetitive way, or focusing intensely on a narrow topic, such as insects fighting.
Symptoms of Asperger's syndrome
Craving repetition and routine (and not responding well to change). Missing social cues in play and conversation. Not making eye contact with peers and adults.
Because of their sensitivity to smell, temperature, taste and texture, kids with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism are often "picky" eaters. Some develop fetishes such as only eating beige-colored foods or foods with creamy textures. They often like very sour or very spicy tastes.
Examples of restricted or repetitive behaviors and interests related to ASD can include. Lines up toys or other objects and gets upset when order is changed. Repeats words or phrases over and over (called echolalia) Plays with toys the same way every time.
Individuals with autism stand out in creative thinking
Autistic people have the ability to think in an abstract way, and they tend to provide solutions to problems in a different way than everyone else. Individuals on the spectrum are often described as people with the ability to think outside the box.
Symptoms. Like all people on the autism spectrum, people who are high functioning have a hard time with social interaction and communication. They don't naturally read social cues and might find it difficult to make friends. They can get so stressed by a social situation that they shut down.
There are varying diagnoses within the category of autism, and under the umbrella of high functioning autism subtypes include asperger's syndrome, pathological demand avoidance, Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) — also known as atypical autism.
A person with Asperger's may not notice your subtle hints when flirting. You may be using your best “moves,” and they could go unnoticed. “Sometimes, they don't know when someone is interested in them or flirting with them unless someone is very explicit,” Mendes explained. This doesn't mean they aren't interested.
Someone with an ASD also may be conspicuously immature in his or her expressions of affection, and sometimes may perceive these expressions of affection as aversive experiences. For example, a hug may be perceived as an uncomfortable squeeze that restricts movement.
Someone with Asperger's syndrome may actually perceive expressions of affection as aversive experiences, and a hug as an uncomfortable squeeze that restricts movement, and they can become confused or over-whelmed when expected to demonstrate and enjoy relatively modest expressions of affection.