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Prosper Health's Autism Resource Center
Featured Article
Social Cues and Autism: Why the "Missed Signals" Narrative Gets It Wrong
Consider this: a coworker asks you to complete a task, “whenever you get the chance,” and you take it at face value. Two days later, you find out the request was urgent, and your coworker assumed their tone made that obvious. Or another example: you're mid-conversation with a friend, and something in their face shifts. You notice it, and you're also tracking their tone, their words, and your own response, all at once. By the time it's processed, the moment to say something has passed.
If either scene felt familiar, you’ve probably been told that you missed something obvious. Maybe you’ve been called hard to read, rude, oblivious, cold, or “bad at people.” But inside, you know that’s not really what happened.
These messages put the entire problem on one person in a conversation between two people. This article looks at autism and social cues, including why social cues can be harder to read for some autistic adults, why misunderstanding is often mutual, and what can help in situations where it matters most.
Misophonia and Autism: Why Certain Sounds Feel Unbearable, and What to Do About It
Do certain everyday sounds — like slurping, tapping, or chewing — send you into a whirlwind of distress or discomfort? Perhaps it’s not just emotional, but also physical, and you can’t shove down the reactions no matter how hard you try. If this feels relatable, you might have a common condition called misophonia.
Research suggests a possible link between misophonia and autism. Autistic individuals are more likely to have sensory sensitivities, after all. In any case, misophonia is “a nervous system response and not a cognizant decision,” says Jacqueline Shinall, Psy.D., a psychologist at neurodivergent-affirming telehealth provider Prosper Health.
Delane, a 27-year-old autistic woman, experiences misophonia due to “human sounds” like eating. “It just feels like someone constantly poking at the same spot, to the point of overstimulation and irritation,” she says. “It takes a lot of self-control to not lash out.”
Let’s take a closer look at what misophonia is, what research shows and doesn’t show about its connection to autism, and how to manage it. Whether you're wondering whether misophonia may be a sign of autism, are autistic and want to understand misophonia, or are simply looking for relief, there's no wrong reason to be here.
The Fear of Being Perceived in Autistic Adults
Let’s say you’re about to go to lunch with a colleague, but you just need to make a few last tweaks on a task.
Your colleague is happy to wait for you and remains quiet while you finish up, but it doesn’t matter. You still feel like you’re being watched. Suddenly, your anxiety skyrockets, and completing your work task now feels impossible with your coworker standing idly by.
Many call this the fear of being perceived — and it’s become a viral shorthand for a much broader feeling — but for autistic and ADHD adults, there’s usually something more concrete that’s happening behind the scenes.
Autistic content creator Morgan Foley even made a video illustrating the fear of being perceived, in which she not only demonstrates how this feeling can present in several scenarios (work, socializing, chores, etc.), but also the thoughts going through her head in that moment.
After reading this article, you will be able to recognize this type of fear as a specific, explainable pattern connected to neurodivergence, understand why it hits differently depending on your neurotype, and identify at least one concrete step toward feeling safer while still being yourself.
Most importantly, this article will help you to answer the question, “Why do I hate being perceived?”
Black and White Thinking: What It Is and Why It Happens
“If I can’t do this project perfectly, I shouldn’t have this job, should I?”
“OMG, my friend canceled our coffee meetup. I knew she never really liked me.”
“My partner forgot I wanted to see The Odyssey this weekend. I think our relationship is in trouble.”
If any of these internal monologues sound familiar, it’s not because someone gained access to your innermost emotions: It’s because these thought patterns are more common than you may think, and they’re known as black-and-white thinking.
Before we delve into these patterns more deeply, know this: It’s okay if you’re unsure whether your black-and-white thinking is a problem, a trait, or both, even if you’ve been told that you tend to “overreact” or that you “can’t see nuance.” Examining this kind of dichotomous thinking doesn’t mean it’s a flaw to be fixed or even a symptom of a specific disorder.
These patterns are just one part of who you are, and you deserve to understand what exactly black-and-white thinking is, what’s driving these patterns, and if you should pursue support.
How to Build a Sensory Self Care Kit to Cope with Sensory Overload
Most autistic adults are familiar with the feeling of sensory overload. Sometimes, an environment is too brightly lit or too noisy. There may be too many overwhelming smells, or clothing may feel extra tight or scratchy. Sensory overload and overstimulation can cause a variety of symptoms, ranging from anxiety to irritability to dizziness. For many autistic individuals, sensory overload can lead to meltdowns, which are particularly exhausting facets of living with autism spectrum disorder.
Though it’s difficult, if not impossible, to completely avoid overly stimulating environments, a sensory self-care kit can help ease discomfort. A sensory kit is a set of items that can be used to reduce sensory input. Having a pre-made kit of these trusty items in one convenient place means that when you’re feeling distressed, you don’t have to think about what to do or scramble to find your comfort items. You can simply reach into your sensory toolkit and start finding relief ASAP.
Read on to learn how to identify your individual sensory preferences and create a sensory self-care kit uniquely suited to your needs.
How to Help with Autism Brain Fog: Effective Strategies for Autistic Adults
Has your brain ever felt fuzzy or exhausted––like it’s moving through molasses to complete basic tasks or remember something? If so, you’ve likely experienced brain fog. People use the term “brain fog” to describe mental fatigue, forgetfulness, impaired executive function and increased effort to do daily tasks.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and brain fog tend to go hand in hand since there’s some overlap between symptoms of brain fog and autistic traits, which can trap autistic adults in an exhausting cycle.
Brain fog has several causes and manifests differently for different people. While some may experience executive dysfunction or memory difficulties, others may find themselves struggling more with fatigue or social anxiety. Just like other facets of autism, brain fog doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all solution. That’s why it’s important for autistic adults to feel empowered to create individualized solutions for the challenges that brain fog presents.
Read on to learn some potentially effective strategies for autistic adults to reduce brain fog.
How to Set Boundaries as an Autistic Adult: A Comprehensive Guide
Boundaries are essential for maintaining emotional well-being and mental health. They protect personal space and help foster healthier relationships. Effective boundaries define what’s acceptable and what’s unacceptable in your relationships.
For adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), setting and enforcing boundaries is an empowering form of self-advocacy that can reduce stress, prevent autistic burnout and create a sense of control over one’s life.
Read on to learn about effective healthy boundaries and how to set boundaries as an autistic adult.
Autistic Parents: Capable, Caring Parents with Real Strengths
Parenting is never easy. But some autistic adults may face additional doubts about their parenting capabilities due to ongoing stigma and myths about autism. Specifically, that autistic adults are incapable of being good parents.
But this is a false belief! Not only are autistic parents capable and caring, but they also bring unique strengths to parenting that non-autistic people might not recognize. At the same time, autistic parents have real support needs that need to be acknowledged and accommodated.
This article will help readers understand what it takes to be an autistic parent, offer support options, provide strategies for common challenges, and debunk prevalent myths.
Unraveling the Mystery of Misdiagnosed Autism
Have you ever heard the phrase, “If you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras”? This metaphor, dating back to Dr. Theodore Woodword in the 1940s, reminds doctors what to prioritize when evaluating a patient’s symptoms. It tells doctors to focus on the most likely diagnosis (the “horse”) for the presenting symptoms before considering what’s less likely (the “zebra”), even if the unlikely zebra seems to fit.
Being autistic can feel like being a zebra in a world of horses—which is no wonder since autistic people make up only about 2% of the U.S. population. Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social and communication differences and a preference for sameness and repetition. It’s a specific constellation of traits, the presentation of which varies greatly from person to person.
Misconceptions around the autism spectrum and common biases mean that many autistic individuals go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. By some estimates, approximately 1 in 4 autistic individuals (and 1 in 3 autistic women) have received a misdiagnosis of a psychiatric condition before being diagnosed with autism. Autism is not a mental health diagnosis, but it can have some things in common with mental health diagnoses, and some clinicians who don’t specialize in autism might not be able to tell the difference.
The misdiagnosis of autism matters to healthcare providers, educators, and, most of all, autistic individuals and their families. Keep reading to learn about the consequences of misdiagnosis and why autism might be misdiagnosed.
Therapy for Autistic Adults: What to Expect in Your First Session
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the development of a person’s brain and nervous system. ASD is part of the natural diversity in human brains, traits and behaviors, also called neurodiversity. Autism occurs along a spectrum, and each autistic person may have a very different combination and intensity of autistic characteristics and support needs. In general, when compared to neurotypical peers, autistic individuals typically experience differences in sensory and cognitive processing, social approaches, communication and their relationship to routine and repetition.
ASD has long been stigmatized and misunderstood, even within the medical community. Often, autism is associated with early childhood, but in reality, it’s a lifelong diagnosis. The CDC estimates that nearly five and a half million US adults are autistic, yet the scarcity of resources for autistic adults is staggering. A 2019 study found that 84% of US counties have no diagnostic resources for autistic individuals of any age, and accessing high-quality mental health services as an autistic adult is notoriously difficult.
For many autistic adults, this gap in resources can make getting help daunting—but all the more important. Autistic adults are more likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness––between 40 and 50% of autistic individuals have or have had anxiety, and as many as 40% have or have had depression, compared to 18.2% and 21.4% of all US adults, respectively. Even more worrying, 66% of late-diagnosed autistic adults reported experiencing suicidal ideation at some point in their lives. Stigma and a broad social failure to accommodate autistic needs are likely drivers of poorer mental health outcomes among autistic adults.
Autistic adults can thrive despite adversity, but many of us confront similar challenges and could benefit from support. These can include, but are certainly not limited to:
- Masking and unmasking
- Autistic burnout
- Sensory sensitivity and sensory overload
- Disclosure and accessing support
- For late-diagnosed autistic adults, processing a new diagnosis
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