Autism In Adults: Characteristics And Common Problems
When we hear the word “autism” the first thing that comes to mind is children with difficulties socializing, communicating with others, and also some type of intellectual disability.
This description is not generalizable at all, first because autism spectrum disorders are associated with different degrees of impairment, with very functional autistic people and, second, because autism is not just a thing for children, it is also present in adults.
Next we will address the topic of autism in adults explaining why there are cases in which ASD is diagnosed in adulthood, what problems and explanations may be behind it and the importance of investigating this disorder in adult life.
In popular culture there is a very wrong idea of what autism is and how it is diagnosed. Many people imagine autistic people as people who have serious problems socializing, unable to communicate, very sensitive to noise and with severe intellectual disabilities. Believing that this definition accurately describes the majority of autistic people, many people believe that autism is something that cannot go unnoticed in childhood.
While it is true that some autistic people may meet the description just mentioned, we should not ignore that Autism refers to a whole spectrum of disorders, not a specific way of being. People with autism can be very diverse, have very different degrees of impairment and their ability to function on a daily basis is not the same for all of them.
Autism Spectrum Disorders or ASD are defined as chronic neurological dysfunctions with a strong genetic basis that, from an early age, give rise to problems of social interaction, communication and lack of flexibility in reasoning and various behaviors. The severity of the problems that may arise in these areas is very varied, meaning that there are people who will need a lot of help while others, with certain difficulties, will be able to cope with day-to-day problems.
Many people discover they have autism as adults. The reason for this is that they are people with more or less mild ASD, manifesting relatively mild problems within the areas typically affected in people with autism. They have had problems throughout their lives and they never saw themselves as completely normal people, but since their problem was mild, there was never the need to go to a professional to receive a diagnosis. They were seen as weird, manic or too sensitive for their age, but never seen as probably autistic people.
As we said, many people have a very specific idea of what it means to be autistic. This stereotype implies prejudices about how functional the autistic person can be. , thinking that a person with ASD will be condemned to receive support their entire life, will never be able to work or be independent. However, many autistic people who do not even know they are have good jobs, have managed to start a family, enjoy a good economic situation and do not seem to need much support, although they may have had more difficulties than a neurotypical person.
There may be several reasons why an adult with ASD was not diagnosed in childhood. As we said, unlike what many believe, ASD does not have to attract as much attention as one thinks. Yes, there are problems with sociability, communication, little flexibility in routine changes and other warning signs but, Since these people have mild autism, their behavior is seen as strange but not too worrying. and their parents saw no reason to take them to professional consultation.
Another thing that can happen is directly related to the heritability of autism. As we said, autism has a high genetic component, meaning that in the same family there can be several members with the disorder. What sometimes happens is that the parents of the child with ASD did not take him for consultation because the behavior of his child resembled that of one of his parents, attributing this to the fact that he had inherited the same personality as his. . What really happens is that this father had ASD and, since his son acted like him, he saw no reason to worry.
The support of family members, teachers and the personality and self-improvement capacity of many boys and girls with ASD can help to mask the disorder, making their difficulties go unnoticed and they end up overcoming them without seeing the need to resort to psychological or psychiatric support. . The person with autism has been learning techniques to efficiently manage their difficulties, without knowing that they were actually caused by a disorder, which has meant that they have ended up having a more or less successful life.
Since people with mild autism progress through life in the same way as others do with some difficulty, they do not initially consider going to a psychologist to find out whether or not they have the disorder. Furthermore, in our society we have deeply internalized the idea that someone who has a more or less functional life can hardly have a psychological disorder, so As these people move on with their lives they do not see the need to see a mental health professional.
Another reason why it goes unnoticed in childhood is the lack of intellectual difficulties combined with obsessive behaviors. Some boys and girls with autism are very good at all types of tasks in which they have to find a pattern, something very useful in subjects such as mathematics, physics and chemistry. Since many parents and teachers focus exclusively on academic performance, if they see that their child is doing well, they are already satisfied and do not consider the need to address the social sphere or communication problems with others.
The main problem of adults with autism
The main problem of adults with ASD, no matter how successful they are, is social relationships , and this affects both your personal and work life. It’s hard for them to make friends, and it’s even harder for them to keep them. Although some may be very good at making friends and even seem to be very outgoing and sociable, their cordiality is rather lacking. Communication problems lead to misunderstandings and create uncomfortable situations that end up losing friends.
Another aspect is their difficulty in lying, capturing sarcasm or making use of social conventions. Many people with ASD are very sincere and honest, sometimes so direct that they clash with social habits and requirements. considered culturally as cordial. For example, if someone asks them if the dress they are wearing looks good on them and it turns out that it looks horrible on them, the autistic person may be very sincere to the point of unintentionally hurting them.
Communication and sociability problems may seem minor if you are generally functional, but in the long run they involve significant problems. Being so sincere, honest and not understanding or making use of social formalisms makes their relationships, especially romantic ones, more likely to fail. In fact, this is the main reason why many functionally autistic people who manage to get married end up divorcing after a few years.
How is it detected in adults?
As we said, there are many autistic people who discover that they are autistic as adults and, also, have the suspicion that their own parents were autistic. But it also happens the other way around: having a child who is suspected of being autistic and, during the diagnosis, beginning to suspect that he or she is also. Many adults receive the diagnosis shortly after their child’s diagnosis has been confirmed. and this story is becoming more and more common.
Over the years, fathers and mothers have become aware of the need to go to a psychologist with their children at some point in their development. Although it is still not the general rule, many parents do do it, especially if they notice something strange about their children. They hope it’s nothing, but they tell themselves that prevention is better than cure and they go to see a professional. There they discover that yes, their children have ASD and that it was good to confirm it early to be able to intervene as soon as possible.
As every good father should do, Many of those who discover that their children have ASD begin to do research to ensure that they handle the situation as best as possible. During their investigation they begin to realize that they themselves have characteristics that could well be considered typical of an autistic person, so they decide to go to a psychologist’s office and be evaluated where they receive confirmation that they also have ASD.
Everyone is different and each person assumes the diagnosis differently, however many people feel relieved after learning that they have ASD. After years of misunderstanding, of being called “weird,” of being blamed for behaving too abruptly or not being interested in their social relationships, these people discover that they are that way because of a mental disorder, not because of a lack of interest or incompetence. social.
Understanding and accepting your disorder, People with ASD feel much better, they see themselves more capable of taking care of themselves, understanding the difficulties of their daily lives , progress in your work, social and personal life. Furthermore, once the diagnosis is confirmed, they begin to receive psychological strategies to manage the aspects of the disorder, significantly improving their lives. If the patient was one of those who was functional before knowing they had ASD, now they will be even more so.
Focused on childhood, ignoring adulthood: the situation of autistic adults
Until now we have discussed the lives of autistic people who are diagnosed with the disorder as adults. As we have said, among the reasons why a person with ASD has not been diagnosed in childhood is presenting mild symptoms of the disorder. Since in his childhood the problems of communication and social interaction did not attract much attention, his environment did not worry him too much, in addition to the fact that he has had a more or less normal growth and has reached adulthood with a more or less functional life.
However, not all people with ASD are this “lucky.” Those who manifest the disorder with the worst severity are easily diagnosed in their childhood since they attract a lot of attention. This is one of the reasons why both the diagnosis and treatment for people with ASD focus a lot on the early years because that is where it is first detected if the “classic” disorder occurs. Nevertheless, This disorder does not disappear with the passage of time: it is still there both in adolescence and in adulthood.
It is true that in recent decades there has been progress in both the diagnosis and understanding of ASD, with more and more professionals. However, taking into account that there are still many professionals specialized in autism in childhood, the situation is even worse for autism in adulthood. Autism in adults has not been as researched or treated as that detected in children, which is a problem because at the end of the day autistic children become autistic adults and will require help.
Leaving aside autistic adults who have been functional most of their lives without knowing they had the disorder, the general situation for adults with autism is not very encouraging. At the end of compulsory education, where there is support provided by the state, this aid suddenly ends, leaving autistic people alone in the world, a world that is difficult for them to understand and that generates anxiety, stress and confusion. As a consequence of this, many autistic people stop studying and relatively few (compared to the general population) manage to find employment without help.
Taking all this into account andIt is necessary to do more research on autism in adulthood, improve existing therapeutic techniques and create new ones. in order to provide well-being to this type of patients. It is also necessary to keep those with ASD busy at work since it has been seen that working helps them become more independent in addition to making their symptoms milder and learning ways to manage their daily life, applicable to both the work and family spheres.
