Given the current state of knowledge, prediction can only be of a global nature and therefore requires the use of general markers. A study on services and outcomes in autistic adults showed that 27% of autistic participants were unemployed. Autistic adults may also have more limited options for support services than autistic children. In the same study, 25% of autistic participants reported not getting enough support services. For an autistic person not diagnosed in childhood, receiving an ASD diagnosis later in life may be helpful for many reasons. In particular, it can provide better access to services and support. In this article, we discuss the signs and symptoms of ASD in adulthood and what to do if a person would like a diagnosis.
Pay Attention to Nonverbal Communication
Some of these include behavioral characteristics which widely range from slow development of social and learning skills to difficulties creating connections with other people. Autistic people may experience these challenges with forming connections due to anxiety or depression, which they are more likely to experience, and as a result isolate themselves. Older autistic children and adults perform worse on tests of face and emotion recognition than non-autistic people, although this may be due to the prevalence of alexithymia in autistic people rather than autism itself. Autism spectrum disorder begins in early childhood and eventually causes problems functioning in society — socially, in school and at work, for example.
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In the second and third years, autistic children have less frequent and less diverse babbling, consonants, words, and word combinations; their gestures are less often integrated with words. Autistic children are less likely to make requests or share experiences, and are more likely to simply repeat others’ words .
It’s difficult to disentangle why these conditions coexist and how one causes the other . Yet identifying them is important because it allows people with autism to address distressing symptoms and improve their day to day life. Sometimes autistic people don’t receive a diagnosis until much later in life. This is due, in part, to a previous lack of awareness among medical practitioners. In addition to the communication and social issues mentioned above, autism also includes symptoms related to body movements and behaviors.
But adults experiencing these symptoms may find it difficult to live independent, day-to-day lives as a result. If symptoms are not present in childhood but begin in adolescence or adulthood, this may indicate a cognitive or mental health condition other than ASD. Schools and health insurance companies provide a wide range of free services to autistic children which would not be available to a child labeled as having “delays.” They may be ultra-sensitive to light or easily distracted by small sounds and movements. Some autistic children are very distressed by sensory input of all types that others may not even notice—like a scented deodorant, appliances humming, etc.