What is autism?
Autism is a difference in how your brain develops that affects how you see and experience the world. It is often called a type of neurodivergence.
- You might also hear autism called autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This is the medical term for a diagnosis of autism.
- Being autistic can affect how you communicate with people and understand them, and how people understand you.
- It can also affect how you think, learn and pay attention to things and how you respond to light, sounds, smells, tastes and touch.
- Some autistic people have a learning disability. Some have average intelligence or above average intelligence.
- Autistic people are more likely to have some physical and mental health conditions, such as epilepsy, anxiety, eating disorders or depression
- ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is also more common in autistic people.
- Autism is something you’re born with. It’s not an illness and there is no cure, but there are ways of managing it and getting support to enhance the quality of life of the autistic person.
- It’s not known what causes autism, but it can sometimes affect people in the same family. It is not caused by vaccines or medicines.
Signs of autism in children
Main signs of autism
The main signs of autism include differences in how someone communicates, behaves and reacts compared to those who are not autistic.
Signs of autism might be noticed at a very young age, or not until later in life.
Every autistic person is different and many autistic people will not show all the signs of autism, or signs may not always be obvious.
Autism may also look different in someone who has other conditions, such as ADHD, an eating disorder or learning disability.
Some people learn to adapt so that signs of autism are less noticeable. This is called masking and it can make everyday activities feel exhausting and stressful. Not all autistic people know that they’re masking.
Signs of autism in young children
Communicating with other people
- Start to speak at a later age than other children
- Take longer to understand what others are saying
- Not respond to their name
- Not speak much or use single words
- Speak in a flat or different tone of voice
- Repeat words and phrases
- Focus intensely on things that interest them, and talk a lot about them
- Talk at other people without listening or responding
- Use eye contact less often
- Use fewer facial expressions and gestures
- Not respond, or respond unexpectedly to other people's facial expressions or feelings
Behaviour and play
- Get too physically close to people
- Not want to be cuddled or have people too close to them
- Not seem interested in other children or be aggressive with them
- Find it hard to join in playing with other children
- Not take part in pretend play (like pretending to be a teacher or imagining an object is something else)
- Enjoy repetitive actions, such as opening and closing doors
- Actively look for sensations that feel calming or enjoyable, such as movement, pressure, sounds and textures
- Do repetitive movements (stimming), such as rocking, spinning, flapping their hands, and flicking their fingers
- Have very strong interests
- Be worried or upset by changes in routine or their environment and new situations
Sensory differences
- Find it difficult to describe their feelings such as feeling hungry, in pain, upset or angry
- React very strongly, or not at all, to lights, sounds, smells, tastes or textures
- Not like brightly lit or noisy rooms
- Not like to wear certain clothes or materials
- Only be able to eat certain foods, or eat food in a certain way such as using certain cutlery
- Not like foods with certain textures
- Not like mixing foods or for foods to be touching
Recognising signs of autism in girls
- Copy how other children behave and play
- Be quiet in situations they find difficult
- Appear to cope with social situations
- Show fewer signs of repetitive behaviours than autistic boys
- Be more likely to have mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression or an eating disorder
Signs of autism in older children and young people
Older autistic children and young people will show many of the same signs of autism as younger children.
They may also:
- Have few close friends and spend more time alone
- Say or do things that seem rude or inappropriate
- Have advanced vocabulary and speak in a formal way
- Find it hard to understand what other people mean, such as taking things literally or not understanding sarcasm
- Need to follow rules and get upset if rules aren’t followed
- Have repetitive behaviours or rituals that make it difficult to carry out daily activities
- Find it difficult to adjust to changes in routine and activities, such as when moving from primary to secondary school
Signs of autism 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
- 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
