Signs You May Be An Autistic Adult

Many people think of autism as a childhood thing.

However, every autistic adult was once an autistic child.

That’s true whether or not they’ve received a diagnosis.

If you’ve only recently discovered you’re autistic, it may feel like a significant “a-ha” moment.

You likely always knew you were “different”, somehow.

But this discovery can help you put a name to these feelings, and validate them.

Speech therapy is a common recommendation for autistic children.

But did you know it can also be helpful for autistic adults, including those who are diagnosed later in life?

Adult speech therapy can help you learn to navigate office politics, make new friends, advocate for yourself, and more.

At Forte Speech & Language Therapy, we offer speech therapy for autism in adults to help you reach your communication goals.

We can support you in developing your communication for all aspects of your life.

In this article, we’ll be looking at autism in adults.

Read on to gain a better understanding of the signs that you might be an autistic adult, and how speech therapy can help.

Intro To Autism In Adults

We’ve previously published an article to help you to get more familiar with what autism is.

But here’s a short explainer.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental difference in how your brain develops and processes the worlds.

Autistic people often experience and think about things think differently than most neurotypical people.

In particular, these difference manifest themselvesmay show up in styles of:

• Communication
• Information processing
• Emotional regulation
• Habit forming
• Concentration and focus
• And others

If you suspect you might be autistic, you probably know that no two autistic people are the same.

Everyone has different life experiences and different traits.

Some autistic people are highly social, while others are shymore reserved.

Some are great with numbers, while others are more literary minded.

Some are highly selective about the food they like, while others like a wide variety.

This is true of adults just as much as children.

The personality traits associated with autism , too, are different from person to person.

However, it’s common for autistic people to feel different or out of place when it comes to social interactions.

In particular, you may have difficulty interpreting verbal and nonverbal communication.

This can affect you at work, home, or school.

RELATED ARTICLE: Frequently Asked Questions About Autism

How To Tell If You’re Autistic

The signs of autism can appear differently in children than in adults.

After all, there’s quite a difference between how a 3 year old and a 30 year old behaves, autistic or not.

While many people receive a diagnosis of autism as children, this isn’t true for everyone.

Information on autism is more accessible now than ever before.

With so much information out there, it’s easier to understand things about yourself that your parents, doctors, or teachers may not have noticed when you were younger.

You might also relate to the experience of masking.

What is masking?

Masking happens when autistic people hide or minimize their autistic traits so that they can “appear” more neurotypical.

This might look like avoiding making repetitive sounds or movements in front of other people.

Or it could involve analyzing the characters on a TV show to learn how to act in certain social situations.

This way, you feel like you can act the way other people expect of you.

You may not even be aware that you have learned to mask throughout your life.

Being familiar with some signs of autism in adulthood can help you understand how you are impacted by autism may shape your experiences.

Let’s take a look.

General Signs Of Autism In Adults

As we mentioned earlier, no two autistic people are alike.

As a result, you may relate to just a couple of the traits below, all of them, or anything in between.

Signs of autism can be broken down into two categories: repetitive and restrictedive behaviors and social communication differences.

Repetitive and restrictedive behaviors in autistic adults might include:

• Feeling upset when your items are moved or rearranged
• Following strict schedules or daily routines
• Having difficulty regulating your emotions
• Feeling distressed after a change in routines or expectations

Social communication behaviors differences in autistic adults might include:

• Difficulty understanding body language and facial expressions
• Difficulty understanding figures of speech, especially if you haven’t heard them before
• Difficulty understanding other people’s feelings, actions, or experiences if they differ from your own
• Difficulty understanding sarcasm
• Preferring a very direct form of communication
• Speaking in a voice that is flat or monotone
• Talking a lot about specific favorite topics
• Finding it challenging to build and maintaining close friendships

These are some general signs of autism in adults, but let’s get more specific.

In particular, let’s talk about autistic traits at work or in your home life.

Signs Of Autism At Work

Some signs of autism you might notice at work include:

• Difficulty telling if your boss is happy with your work or upset with you
• Organizing your desk in a certain way, and feeling distressed when others touch it
• Preferring to avoid looking at your coworker’s eyes when you speak with them
• Not understanding what behaviors or clothes are appropriate for your job without explicitly being told
• Difficulty with time management and prioritizing tasks
• Making involuntary sounds or movements during meetings, or feeling the need to suppress them

Signs Of Autism At Home

Just like with work, there are some common signs of autism that you may experience in your personal life.

These can include signs like:

• Following the same schedule every day
• Preferring to participate in individual activities rather than group ones
• Strongly disliking unexpected events
• Sometimes experiencing differences in motor coordination, such as tripping or bumping into things
• Repeating certain behaviors or making involuntary noises even when you’re somewhere quiet
• Suppressing the need to make involuntary noises or repetitive behaviors

Do Autistic Women Show Autism Differently?

Autistic women and girls can showexperience and express autism differently than autistic boys and men.

About four times as many boys as girls receive autism diagnoses.

However, this might be because of differences in how girls show experience autism, not necessarily because it’s that much more common in boys.

Often, autistic women are not diagnosed until later in life.

If you are a woman questioning whether or not you are autistic, you may relate to this.

This is possibly due to the fact that autistic women might be more prone to masking their behaviors, either consciously or unconsciously.

Because there are other developmental or learning differences that can look similar to autism, this can make your autistic traits more challenging to notice.

Many autistic women learn how to cope by hiding their autistic traits in social situations.

This might look like mimicking the people around them, studying books and movies to understand how to act, or appearing shy.

Many autistic people have special interests.

These intense interests take up more time than typical interests or hobbies and are more intense.

Autistic boys and men will often have interests that stand out or are very particular.

Autistic girls and women, on the other hand, might have special interests that fit into what is considered typical for girls and women in their age group.

For example, an autistic man might be intensely interested in the inner workings of radios and spend hours taking them apart.

An autistic woman, however, might devote the same intensity and time to crochet or sewing projects, or a popular band or TV series.

If you are an autistic woman, this might mean that your special interests have been overlooked as a typical teenage phase, or just an activity that you’re really passionate about.

However, those interests could actually be the intense special interests that are characteristic of autism.

How Is Autism Diagnosed In Adults?

There’s no special test to diagnose autism in adults.

Autism isn’t diagnosed by testing your blood or any other physical test.

When you are assessed for autism, a doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist will evaluate your behaviors.

This might involve filling out questionnaires and answering your doctor’s questions.

Some doctors will ask to speak to people who knew you as a child, such as parents or teachers, to see if you had signs of autism as a child that were missed.

This is because there are other disabilities that can mimic the signs of autism but might not have been present from birth.

However, not every medical professional will ask to speak to someone who knew you when you were young.

Some clinics or clinicians will even specialize in adulthood diagnosis.

What To Do If You’re Autistic?

If you have recently received an adulthood diagnosis of autism or suspect you are autistic, congratulations!

Now you have more information about how your brain works than you did before.

However, it can also be overwhelming to know what to do next.

If you have a diagnosis, this might help you receive accommodations at work, school, or insurance.

It’s important to figure out what therapies supports or accommodations might be right for you.

One helpful option for autistic adults is speech therapy.

How Can Speech Therapy Help Autistic Adults?

Speech therapy can be an excellent tool to support yourself as an autistic adult, whether or not you have a diagnosis.

Your speech therapist can work with you to create goals to work towards. that are meaningful and individualized.

Your speech therapist can support you with things such as:

• Socializing and making friends
• Navigating workplace conversations
• Advocating for yourself
• Using supports such as such as AAC if needed
• Understanding social cues
• Interpreting nonverbal cues
• And more

RELATED ARTICLE: Frequently Asked Questions About Augmentative And Alternative Communication (AAC)

Book Your Appointment With Forte Speech & Language Therapy Today

Discovering you’re autistic, whether recently or long ago, can be a powerful moment of clarity.

And finding the right support can help you turn that insight into meaningful growth.

At Forte Speech & Language Therapy, we specialize in working with autistic adults who want to build confidence in their communication, navigate social situations more comfortably, and better advocate for themselves in daily life.

You don’t need a childhood diagnosis to benefit from speech therapy.

We meet you where you are, with personalized support that reflects your goals, strengths, and needs.

Ready to take the next step?

Book your appointment with Forte Speech & Language Therapy today and explore how speech therapy can support your journey as an autistic adult.