Wow it's been really quiet here lately.

I'm preparing to write an article on adults with autism who don't
know that they are autistic. Much of it concerns listing out
characteristics that one would look for in onself and others. I'd
appreciate honest but kind feed back.

I was thinking that I should first mention the core charateristics of
autism, which so far I have as:

1) Acute senses or a need for a high amount of sensory input.
Probably experiences defensive reactions to sensory stimuli that are
not noxious or are mildly offending to most people. An individual
commonly experiences both defensive reactions and a need for input
depending on the situation.
2) Lack of social intuition. Experience in one social situation
doesn't not translate to a different, but similar, situation. Thinks
in terms of sensory experiences (e.g. thinking in pictures) or in
literal language.


Then there are the secondary characteristics. Here's my list of what
to look for in adults who may blend into society, i.e. are not
obviously autistic. Of course, with these, one has to look at the
pattern and not just one or two (or three or four) charactertistics:

Doesn't not make small talk or chitchat
Monologues instead of dialogues
Patiently listens to others who monologue or is easily bored with
listening to others
Appears to "lack common sense"; "Social Intelligence" doesn't appear
to match "rote intelligence"
Does not make much eye contact or does not break eye contact
Good memory
Detail oriented
Does not care about social hierarchy or following trends
Enjoys tasks that require intense concentration but has difficulty
multi-tasking
Does not catch onto subtle social signals; does not understand tone
of voice (including sarcasm) or body language
Does not know how to answer general questions, such as "What did you
think of [blank]?"
Avoids new social situations or groups of people
Avoids large gathering of people
Enjoys being around people, but prefers to (or appears to prefer)
listening to conversation rather jumping into conversation
Fakes "normal" socialization but is exhausted afterwards
Fakes "normal" socialization by adopting a personality
Needs structure and routines
Difficulty making changes and transitions, especially when unexpected
Experiences a constant background state of anxiety
Logical and very practical
Does not express much emotion (regardless of how the person is
actually feeling)
Speaks in a monotone voice or with repetitive or syncopated speech
Appears to under-react or over-react to other people's emotions
If overwhelmed, may "snap" or meltdown with no preceding signals
or "saves up" frustration for when alone
Needs a lot of downtime
Appears to be obsessed with one or several topics
Engages in self-stimulatory behavior when excited (whether happy or
agitated), such as hand-flapping, spinning, or rocking
Intellectually understand social rules but thinks they are ridiculous
Prefers to communicate via e-mail
Understands animals, computers, or machines better than people
Enjoys watching Monty Python
Has a strength in one of the three "Ms": math, music, and mechanics