10 Signs You Might Be Autistic

Have you ever felt different from others? Not just 'unique', but fundamentally different. If you clicked on this article, you might have already suspected whether you are autistic. Although every autistic person's experience is different, there are some commonalities. The following 10 signs may indicate that you are on the autism spectrum.

Important Note

This content is only to help you understand and cannot be used for diagnosis. If you really want to confirm, be sure to see a professional doctor or counselor.

1. Difficulty Reading Facial Expressions

Are you often told that you have 'no intuition' or are 'indifferent'? Autistic people actually care about other people's feelings, but the problem is that others don't say 'I'm angry' or 'I'm sad' directly; they just use expressions and eyes to hint. These subtle expressions are like a difficult puzzle for you. If you often have a headache because you can't guess other people's emotions, this may be a sign.

2. Exhausted in Crowds

Do you feel you fit in? For autistic people, a group of people doing things together or chatting has too many vague rules. You don't know what to say, when to say it, feel that others are always disrupting your rhythm, or you simply can't keep up with several groups of people chatting at the same time. When playing games, those unwritten 'hidden rules' also confuse you. If you always feel stressed and out of place in group activities, you may need to pay attention.

3. Difficulty Making Close Friends

Do you find it particularly difficult to make friends, as if others are born with it, but you can't find the 'manual'? You may observe and imitate how others make friends, but the effect is not good. Even if you work hard, you may still feel that you don't have any true friends. This persistent loneliness is also a common feature.

4. Formal or 'Robotic' Speech

Has anyone ever said that you speak too formally, rigidly, or use words that are too profound? Your tone may be flat, with little ups and downs. Sometimes you feel that ordinary vocabulary is not enough, and you may even invent some words to express yourself. As a child, adults might have praised you for 'speaking like a little adult.' This unique way of speaking is a characteristic of autism.

5. Interrupting Conversations

Do you interrupt when others haven't finished speaking? It's not intentional, but you really can't figure out when it's your turn to speak. When chatting, others may just be taking a breath, not finished; or they ask a question that doesn't actually require you to answer. It gets messier when there are more people, and you can't calculate who should speak. If you often accidentally interrupt others, this could be a signal.

6. Don't Know What to Say / Awkward Chats

Is small talk or chatting about family particularly tiring for you, and you don't know what to say? You finally open your mouth, but others may think your words are too blunt, a bit childish, or always talking about topics you are interested in but others don't understand. Even more depressing is that you find that the topic that worked last time fell flat this time. If your chats often end in awkwardness, this may be a sign.

7. Sensitivity to Sound

Are you particularly afraid of noise? Malls, gyms, and concerts that others find normal may be unbearable for you. Even at home, you may be annoyed by the hum of the refrigerator, the dripping of the faucet, or the current sound of the fluorescent light. You might think: How can others stand these noises? If you always feel the world is too noisy, this may be a manifestation of sensory sensitivity.

8. Focus on Details but Miss the Point

Are you particularly good at spotting small details? Like remembering a string of numbers, a date, or a license plate number. You can see things that others miss at a glance. Your memory is also very good and can remember a lot of specific information. But others may say that you 'see the trees but not the forest,' meaning that you can remember a lot of details but don't quite understand the overall meaning or the logic behind it.

9. Taking Things Literally

Do you wish others would just say what they mean? For autistic people, many daily conversations are like riddles. Jokes, irony, metaphors, idioms... these ways of 'not speaking properly' often confuse you. When others are being polite, you might take it seriously; or when others make a request euphemistically, you might not hear it at all. If you often misunderstand because you understand others' words literally, this may be a characteristic.

10. Hating Disruption of Routine

Do you have your own set of procedures for doing things? What to do at what time every day is arranged clearly. If there is a sudden change, or things don't go as you expected, you will be very anxious and uncomfortable. As a child, you might have had your own fixed, repetitive patterns even for playing games. Reliance on routine and strong discomfort caused by change are core characteristics of autism.