Questioning if I'm Autistic: Atypical Social Symptoms?

Autism is a spectrum. Let's use me and my sister as an example I'm empathetic, she's apathetic. She has many friends, I have 3. She gets social cues, I don't. I can give class presentations, she can't. I hope this helps.

im high-empathy and have really animated expressions/expressive voice bc i felt like i wasn't understood unless i made my emotions very clear! you are definitely not the only one

Hey, I don’t know if you are female born, but afab people tend to actually have high empathy instead of high detachment when they are autistic. I am in the same boat as you :)

Thank you all!

Yes! not only can social deficits present differently, but as you engage in more social situations, you can learn some social rules, making it harder for others to believe you’re autistic.

A lot of the traditional autism signs are based off studies in males. Not as much research has been done on autism in women. We tend to be more social, either naturally, or through learned behavior in order to mask.

I'm one of the most social people I know. I don't have any difficulty looking people in the eye, I find I'm pretty good at interacting with others, and I enjoy social situations. I do, however, take things very literally and I don't read between the lines.

Absolutely! Autism is a spectrum. And not just a linear one, every single symptom is a spectrum.

Autism is a spectrum for a reason. I also am high empathy and that is an autistic presentation. Low or high or changing empathy can be an autistic trait. Social difficulties also present as a spectrum in of itself. If you feel strongly about it then don’t be embarrassed! Most people aren’t educated on autism in it’s infinite complexity because it varies so much by individual. Get evaluated if that’s something you want and can do!

Difficulty socializing can present a ton of different ways. You may be good at recognizing facial expressions but there could be other areas that you are lacking. Ex following the flow of conversation with multiple people