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Prosper Health's Autism Resource Center
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Special Interests and Autism
Most autistic individuals have one or more special interests. A special interest is an intense fixation that far exceeds a typical hobby or passion. An autistic person will typically have the desire to devote large portions of their time, and sometimes large portions of their money, to their special interests. Neurotypical people can and do experience fixations or passions, but having a special interest is a trait strongly associated with autism.
Here’s what you need to know about special interests, how they manifest, the benefits of encouraging them, and more.
What Are Signs of Autism in Adults? A Guide to Autistic Traits and Self-Discovery
When you picture someone with autism, there’s a good chance that a child comes to mind. Maybe your nephew or a member of your child’s class is diagnosed, so you’re familiar with some of the behaviors associated with the condition...or at least how they show up in children. But millions of autistic adults exist too, since autism is a distinct neurotype, not something you grow out of.
However, if the condition wasn’t assessed already in childhood, it can be harder to spot as an adult. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one in 45 adults is autistic, and even more are likely undiagnosed.
Though there are many shared traits between the age groups, autism can present differently in adults than in children, which is something we'll discuss in depth within this article. But fundamentally, the signs of autism in adults include a range of characteristics like:
- Social interaction and communication differences
- Self-soothing and self-regulatory behaviors
- Sensory and processing differences
- Special interests and activities
- Emotional regulation and cognitive traits
If you suspect you may be autistic, you likely know the journey toward diagnosis isn’t so straightforward. It can be confusing and frustrating! Especially since no two people with autism are the same, and everyone has their own unique combination of strengths and challenges.
On top of that, many adults tend to mask their autistic behaviors to fit in with their neurotypical peers, oftentimes without even realizing it. Plus, thanks to gender and cultural bias and other stereotypes, countless autistic adults are overlooked due to their more subtle presentation of the condition.
That’s why Prosper Health is here to provide you with a clear, inclusive, neurodivergent-affirming breakdown of adult autism signs: what they are, why they’re often missed, and what to do if they resonate.
Understanding Autism and Relationships: Navigating Love, Family and Friendship
Autism can shape how individuals experience relationships, bringing unique strengths like honesty, loyalty, and focus. However, autism also creates challenges related to interpreting social cues or expressing emotions. These differences can easily lead to misunderstandings.
Autistic people thrive in relationships with clear communication and mutual understanding. For instance, they may prefer direct communication or need time to recharge after sensory overload. When these needs are respected, it fosters trust and support.
How to Get Tested for Autism as an Adult: A Comprehensive Guide
Have you ever thought about getting tested for autism?
Perhaps because, as both a child and an adult, you’ve always felt misunderstood or out of sync with your peers. You could never quite put your finger on why you were different, but deep down, you knew there had to be an underlying reason. As our collective understanding of autism and diverse neurotypes grows, more and more people are realizing their autism might have been missed when they were kids and are now seeking a diagnosis in adulthood.
The day we received my daughter’s autism diagnosis, it felt like the world finally opened its doors to our family. But so many autistic individuals have lived their entire lives without knowing they are neurodivergent, and as a result, aren’t getting the support they need. Luckily, it’s never too late to get an autism diagnosis, but the process can feel intimidating. Where do you even start? Especially when autism testing options for adults, as well as data on autistic adults, are still relatively limited.
For example, the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 1 in 45 adults in the United States is autistic, but many are undiagnosed.
The good news is that there is growing recognition of the need for more accessible and respectful autism assessments and diagnoses. This has led to a push to improve the overall autism testing process for adults in recent years. According to a study published in JAMA Network Open, the rate of diagnosis in young adults (age range: 26-34) rose 450% between 2011 and 2022.
Getting yourself tested for autism can feel like an overwhelming task. That’s why Prosper Health is here to provide you with a step-by-step, supportive guide that will give you everything you need to know about the diagnostic process, from self-reflection to post-diagnosis support and resources.
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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
CPTSD vs Autism: Similarities, Differences, and How to Get Support
Complex PTSD, or CPTSD, is a mental health condition people can develop after prolonged exposure to trauma. CPTSD is fairly common among autistic individuals, and shares a number of features with autism, like sensory sensitivity and emotional dysregulation. However, they are distinct diagnoses, differing in key areas like how and when they emerge during a person’s life and goals for treatment.
Navigating Autism: How to Identify and Cope with Personal Triggers
Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts how an individual communicates and experiences the world. Autistic behaviors may include intense and limited interests, repetitive behaviors, sensory sensitives and difficulty recognizing and expressing emotions.
Autistic individuals may experience meltdowns. A meltdown is an intense and involuntary reaction to the challenges that autism presents, like intense sensory experiences, navigating tricky social situations and emotional dysregulation.
In mental health circles, a trigger refers to an event or feeling that causes a strong emotional response. Neurotypical and neurodiverse individuals alike have triggers, and everyone’s triggers are different. A neurotypical person may feel sadness or nervousness when being confronted with one of their triggers. For autistic individuals, however, being exposed to a trigger can lead to a meltdown.
Meltdowns are stressful and incredibly unpleasant to experience. For autistic adults, meltdowns will happen occasionally, but having a better understanding of individual triggers may help them prevent meltdowns when possible.
Navigating Neurodivergence: Tips for Managing Asperger's Brain Fog
Our understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has grown significantly over the years, leading to important changes in how we diagnose and describe its various presentations. One of the most significant changes to the ASD diagnosis is the inclusion of Asperger’s syndrome as part of the autism spectrum.
Asperger's syndrome was added to the DSM-IV in 1994 but was moved underneath the diagnostic umbrella of “Autism Spectrum Disorder” in the DSM-V in 2013. Though Asperger’s syndrome is considered to be part of the autism spectrum, it presents symptoms that are similar to ASD but may be less severe or pervasive. Asperger’s is typically marked by:
- Impaired social interaction and nonverbal communication
- Restricted interests
- Repetitive behaviors
- Lack of awareness about how their actions may impact others
The main difference between Asperger’s and autism is that people who were formerly diagnosed with Asperger’s may have less severe symptoms and no speech delay. In fact, those who have been diagnosed with Asperger’s may have advanced speech and language skills.
So, while Asperger’s used to be its own diagnosis, the current diagnostic standards for autism spectrum disorder include Asperger’s. Those who may have, in the past, been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome are now likely to be diagnosed with level one autism or to be classified as having low support needs.
While it’s true that diagnostic standards have been updated due to the fact that Asperger’s and autism have a large overlap of symptoms, Asperger’s is no longer used also due in part to its controversial namesake. Asperger’s syndrome was first formally named by Hans Asperger after he conducted a comprehensive study on a group of children with autistic traits in 1944. Though Asperger was never an official member of the Nazi Party, he worked closely with them and cooperated with their policies, which targeted neurodivergent individuals. Asperger’s ties to nazi policies, and the harsh language he used to describe his patients is among the reasons that the term “Asperger’s” is no longer widely used.
However, even though the term is largely outdated, many neurodivergent people were originally diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and still resonate with it. Therefore, it’s important to approach the controversy surrounding the name with nuance.
Autism and Psychosis: Overlap, Differences and Co-occurrence
When most people think of psychosis, they think of schizophrenia—not autism. However, psychosis can be associated with several different diagnoses. Although psychosis is not a symptom of autism, it’s more common for autistic individuals to experience psychosis at some point during their lives than it is for neurotypicals.
Psychosis often involves hallucinations and delusions, where an individual perceives things that are not there or believes things that are untrue, respectively. These experiences can feel very real and quite frightening. However, many forms of support can help people thrive while reducing, managing or eliminating symptoms of psychosis.
Understanding Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria in Autism: A Guide for Autistic Adults
Do you ever feel intense emotional pain when faced with the slightest bit of criticism? Or, does rejection send you into a spiral of shame and avoidance? For some people, these are signs of rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD).
Rejection sensitive dysphoria is an intense emotional response to perceived rejection, criticism, or failing to meet expectations. In both autistic and allistic (non-autistic) people, it manifests as an acute sensitivity to rejection, often leading to feelings of deep emotional pain, anxiety or depression when an individual believes they’ve been dismissed or judged negatively.
For autistic individuals, RSD may manifest differently than typical rejection sensitivity. Emotion regulation challenges may mean that their emotional response to perceived rejection can be more intense and long-lasting, often leading to avoidance of social situations or heightened anxiety about relationships and social interactions. This can create a cycle where fear of rejection limits opportunities for connection and support. Differences in social communication, such as struggling to interpret nonverbal and other social cues, could also exacerbate RSD for autistic adults.
Read on to learn more about RSD, its psychological impacts and how to cope.
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