Signs In Adults

Signs of autism in adults

If you are an autistic adult, signs may be similar to the signs of autism in children.

You may have learned to adapt so that signs of autism are not always noticeable.

This is called masking and can make everyday activities and social interactions feel exhausting and stressful.

You may:

• find it hard to talk to other people
• spend more time alone than with other people
• find it hard to understand people's facial expressions, gestures or tone of voice
• take things literally and find it hard to understand phrases such as "it's a piece of cake" (meaning "it's easy")
• have fixed ways of doing things
• get distressed when there are changes to your routine
• do repetitive movements (stimming), such as rocking, flapping your hands or flicking your fingers
• be very focussed on specialist interests
• be very sensitive, or not sensitive at all, to light, sounds, smells, tastes or textures (sensory differences)

If you're autistic you may also have:

• problems with staying in school, college or keeping a job
• difficulty making friends and having romantic relationships
• problems with your mental health
• a learning disability

It may be difficult to see signs of autism if an adult has other conditions, such as a learning disability, anxiety, depression, an eating disorder, or ADHD.

Recognising signs of autism in women

It can be harder to see signs of autism in women due to masking (not showing the signs). If you're an autistic woman you may be more likely to:

• copy how other people behave
• appear to cope well with social situations
• be very quiet in situations you find difficult and hide your feelings
• show fewer signs of repetitive behaviours than autistic men
• have a mental health condition such as anxiety, depression or an eating disorder

Although autistic women may be more likely to mask, autistic men can also mask autistic behaviours.

See a GP if:

Find out more

• Signs that an adult or child may be autistic - National Autistic Society
• Autistic women and girls - National Autistic Society

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