Later in high school he was willing to take more risks and to experiment with approaches since he would be graduating soon. While there is no “certificate” that qualifies experts to diagnose adult autism, the expert you choose should certainly have some form of training in how to diagnose ASD. They need not have research-level reliability for ASD diagnostic tests, but they do need clinical training with other autism experts. Finding a qualified provider to evaluate, diagnose, and treat adult autism is difficult, as many autisticindividuals know far too well. Many autistic people want to have friends, even if they’re introverted. Autistic people are often sincere, saying exactly what they mean, and expecting others to do so too.

​Why ALL children are screened for autism:

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Kanner’s children were described as having a ‘good relation to objects’, in particular those ‘that do not change their appearance and position, that retain their sameness and never threaten to interfere with the child’s aloneness’. On the other hand, the children’s relation to people was ‘altogether different’ and Kanner described instances in which the children would barely notice when other people entered a room. He also noted that these children tended to use language in a very literal fashion and that they failed to relate to other people physically . Many autistic children need routines in order to feel secure, and will become very distressed if the routine is disrupted. For many of these young adults, finding a niche in which they felt comfortable being themselves was a welcome change to how they experienced other social contexts and relationships.

How Is Autism Diagnosed?

Reversing pronouns (using “you” instead of “I”) is another common trait of children who have ASD. Autistic children may not understand or respond to other’s non-verbal cues. Another symptom of autism is when a child does not respond to being comforted by others when they are distressed.

Does My Child Have Autism?

Notably, some of the successful approaches participants described were self-initiated rather than delivered as a service. This suggests that young adults can also be supported in more informal ways. For example, guiding them to seek friends who are understanding and appreciative, rather than practicing social norms that mask their autism characteristics or encouraging other venues or forms of friendships, such as online communities. Most people, autistic or not, seek friends who accept them and who share interests. For young adults on the spectrum, however, these relationships can be harder to develop because their social differences often set them apart. Participants described not understanding social rules in various contexts, such as in everyday conversation, or not wanting to adhere social norms because it took a lot of effort and felt uncomfortable.

They may struggle with understanding figurative language and sarcasm, and knowing whether someone is joking. The person can be a celebrity or someone that the autistic person actually knows. The autistic person may be interested in learning everything about the person, and be devastated if the two knew each other and they lose contact. Recognize that there is no one way to “look autistic.” Despite the 8-year-old white boy stereotype, autistic people can be of any age, gender, and race. There are autistic geniuses and autistic people with profound intellectual disability. There are also many autistic people with around average intelligence. Just like non-autistic people, autistic people exist at all levels of intelligence.