64 Common Autistic Traits You Never Realised Were Signs of Autism!

Hi! I'm Orion Kelly and I'm Autistic. On this video I provide 64 traits you may not have known were signs of autism. Plus, I share my personal lived experiences as an #actuallyautistic person. #orionkelly #autism #asd #autismsigns #whatautismfeelslike

🙏 Thanks so much for watching, rating, commenting, sharing and subscribing, I really appreciate it! You're helping me raise the level of understanding and acceptance of the Autistic community. You can show your support for my channel by doing any of these things:

1️⃣ SUBSCRIBE to my channel.
2️⃣ LIKE / COMMENT / SHARE my videos.
3️⃣ SEND me a Super Thanks

📬 Business Postal Address (Sponsorship proposals, promotional considerations etc)
Orion Kelly Media,
PO Box 457,
Inverloch, VIC, Australia 3996

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

🔵 CHANNEL LINKS 🔵

🔵 CONNECT 🔵
TikTok: @orionkelly_australia

🎧 My Friend Autism' PODCAST 🎧

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ABOUT ORION:
Orion Kelly is an #ActuallyAutistic vlogger (YouTuber), podcaster, radio host, actor, keynote speaker and Autistic advocate based in Australia. Orion is all about helping you increase your understanding, acceptance and appreciation of Autistic people.

#AutisticVoices #ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #Autism #OrionKelly #ThatAutisticGuy #ASD

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

⛔️*Disclaimer: The videos contained on this channel are for general education and entertainment purposes only and do not constitute professional advice. For professional advice and training seek assistance from a qualified provider. All views are my own and do not represent those of my employers or sponsors. Some images used are stock images.*⛔️

Related: autism, autism diagnosis, Orion Kelly, orionkelly, thatautisticguy, tiktok videos, autistic, autism in adults, autism in women, autism in men, autism spectrum condition, asd, autism spectrum disorder, aspergers, aspergers syndrome, autism in boys, autism in girls, dsm, dsm5, autistic adults, autistic kids, autism mom, autism parent, autism family, autism speaks, autism awareness, autism acceptance, autism at work, am I autistic, adult autism test, autism disclosure, autism therapy, autism prevention, autism meltdown, autistic burnout, autistic behavior, autism symptoms, autism traits, autistic signs, what autism feels like, love on the spectrum, stimming, echolalia, anxiety

[travisgraham]

If it helps anyone, I typed up some summaries of the 64 things:
1 trouble with making eye contact
2 trouble reading facial expressions
3 sensory sensitivities
4 social anxiety
5 literal thinking (not understanding figurative expressions)
6 difficulty with abstract thinking (understanding time, money etc)
7 difficulty with transitions - moving from one thing to the next
8 difficulty with change and especially unexpected change
9 need for following a routine
10 difficulty with social ques (not understanding when someone is communicating in a non verbal way)
11 difficulty with small talk
12 difficulty with sarcasm (particularly when ppl are being sarcastic with you)
13 difficulty with humor (challenge understanding jokes, puns)
14 trouble understanding or relating or identifying to other ppls emotions
15 difficulty with emotional regulation
16 difficulty with impulse control
17 strong interest / obsession with certain topics
18 difficulty with executive functioning (unable to plan out time or projects for example)
19 difficulty prioritizing projects
20 challenges making decisions
21 difficulty with problem solving (without others supporting)
22 difficulty in multitasking
23 difficulty taking turns
24 difficulty in sharing
25 difficulty with join attention (focusing on the same thing as someone else)
26 struggle with imaginary play or role playing
27 challenges with social activities (social play for kids). Do you struggle to know how to engage in these activities. You are more observing
28 difficulty with cooperative play (kids) or work (adults)
29 preferring to work, rest or play alone (alone time)
30 difficulty with self regulation (hard to control your emotions, behaviors)
31 difficulty with self awareness
32 difficulty with self monitoring / reflection
33 no or bad self esteem. lack of confidence
34 difficulty with self advocacy
35 difficulty initiating/starting conversations
36 difficulty maintaining conversations
37 difficulty ending conversations
38 difficulty with body language (struggling to both read body language of others and use it yourself)
39 difficulty with tone of voice (using correct tone for situation)
40 difficulty with inflection and varying in the tone of your voice
41 difficulty with volume control (speaking too loudly or too softly)
42 difficulty with pitch
43 difficulty with intonation (pitch or speed)
44 difficulty with prosody (using appropriate rhythm intomation or melody)
45 difficulty with articulation (make clear and distinct speech sounds)
46 difficulty with vocabulary (some it may be limited some may be a difficulty in retrieving the words)
47 difficulty with grammar
48 difficulty with syntax (order and arrangement of words in a sentence)
49 difficulty with semantics (meaning and interpretation of words and phrases)
50 echolalia - repeating words, phrases you have heard from other ppl
51 difficulty recognizing faces
52 difficulty with central coherence (struggle to see the big picture or larger context)
53 intense interests
54 sensory seeking behaviors (seek out sensory)
55 hypersensitivity (less sensitive to certain inputs)
56 lack of coordination
57 difficulty with fine motor skills (from tying your shoelaces to handwriting)
58 difficulty with gross motor skills (jumping, running)
59 difficulty with balance
60 difficulty with proprioception (spatial awareness)
61 difficulty to understand or navigate physical spaces
62 difficulty with visual processing (making sense of visual info)
63 difficulty with auditory processing (info that we are listening to)
64 difficulty with tactile processing (hard to process tactile information)

[katie]

I don't have spacial awareness struggles, the doorframes do. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[melh.]

I have recently made an appointment with a clinic that specialises in autism diagnosis. I was worried that I was just wasting everyone's time. But after watching this and relating to 58/64 traits, I feel slightly less worried about that.

[hektorthebumblebee]

I am diagnosed but still I always find myself watching videos like this, cause „hey, what if they were wrong and you’re faking it.“

[DashValkyrie]

I'm so with you on the "ending conversations" thing. Like how many times do you go "alright, I have to go now" before the neurotypicals get that I ACTUALLY HAVE TO GO

[Xanderj]

It's definitely important to note that for every hypo trait there's a hyper equivalent. For every autistic who has difficulty roleplaying, there's an autistic who *thrives* on roleplay (it's a common escapist trait for masked autistics, diving into a book or media or fantasy to escape the NT world), for every autistic who has extreme taste sensitivity there's one who doesn't care about flavor at all, for every autistic who has problems with tactile processing there's one who is incredibly dexterous and loves the feeling etc.

This one was important to me because the assumed trait of "can't roleplay/pretend" along with a general lack of understanding about masking are big things that leads to missed diagnoses. If anything, immersion/roleplay is one of my biggest autistic traits and fuels my special interests (immersing in music/books/shows/games etc. and just disappearing from my body and being in a sensory universe), full body/mind diving into whatever I'm doing until we feel one and the same, I can't even help it (I instantly AM the person I'm watching on tv or talking to for instance, I cry at 10 second commercials because I just imagine myself as the person without even meaning to) I'm very passionate about being able to fantasize at any given moment, my only tattoo even says Nucleus Basalis (the imagination center of the brain).

I often forget people don't do that, and get confused when they watch a movie or play a game detached and aren't like, feeling the same thing as the actor and forgetting they exist irl. Or seeing themselves holding a controller moving a character on the screen and not like, *being* the character on the screen and forgetting you're even holding a controller.

[Brainman]

So many of these apply to me. It’s somewhat scary. I’m undiagnosed but am now convinced that I have autism and ADHD, which explains what I have experienced for 50+ years.

[Obelov]

It was not until I was in my 20s that "nervous" feeling walking into a convenience store that only had one person in it, the cashier, is social anxiety.
Everyone always thinks it means a crowded party.
But is any time ur anxious about a social interaction.
Even with family you know well.

[voEovove]

Holy crap, this hits hard. I only discovered I'm autistic a little less than a year ago, in my late twenties. I've been struggling with a plethora of these issues my entire life. It hurts.

[DashValkyrie]

I would add: difficulty with interoception: struggling to process and understand sensations from inside the body. for example, my entire life I've struggled to identify when I'm feeling hungry or full, until either I feel dizzy and spaced out (from hunger) or, I feel sick (from eating too much). Or I will put off going to the loo for way too long because I don't recognise a sensation until it's urgent. I think that's also related to identifying and processing emotions.

With a lot of the speech and verbal ones, I think being highly skilled in those areas can actually be a sign. Because (for me) speech, grammar, vocabulary etc were a chance for me to learn all the rules, and the right way to say or write things, and then use them in a way that means that I kinda have a formula for success and can "win" at the thing.

[ambriasaunders]

I can make eye contact, but it's weird for me. Sometimes, I'll stare directly into someone's eyes, barely blinking. Sometimes I can't meet someone's eyes. Sometimes, they both happen, to the same person... In the same conversation... 😅

[ChaoticAnswers]

Normies have trouble with subtle sarcasm, which is fun they have no idea. But when I'm genuine they take it as sarcasm which is not fun.

[K]

The sharing thing got me. I really suck at social media because it's all about sharing with other people. I never take pictures when I'm on vacations or experiencing things because I don't care to share them. Not in a mean malicious way I just think in my mind, why would any one care to see this stuff? It feels like I'm just bragging or something. Also when people share with strangers stories about their kids or spouses. I have to force myself to share in those instances or I'll have a story or two logged in my brain for just in case I'm in that situation. I just always feel like why would a random stranger give a crap about these things? So it's hard for me to naturally do it.

[morganbertolino]

I have never once in my life been able to pay attention to verbal instructions for longer than 2 minutes

[Stormbrise]

One that you missed for us girls and some males is mimicking. It is not echolalia of repeating words, it is picking out someone that fits in better than us, and mimicking their tone of voice, their pitch of voice, how they stand, how they gesture, their word choices. I do this a lot with my stepsister. Also when learning Danish, I was told I did not need the speech course at night because I was mimicking the lady on the tape too well. I speak with a bad American accent otherwise due to my hearing problem.

[ArtsyMegz_On_Etsy]

Ah yes! Losing words! When I am planning to visit a family member, and spent the entire week thinking about how I need to say this or that to them (so that they can better understand my perspective (usually about a misunderstanding from our previous visit)). And then, me getting sucked into THEIR words instead, completely forgetting what it was that I needed to say. This typically happens when they ask questions about our previous misunderstanding, but completely twisting it in a different direction, where I get so sidetracked that I forgot where I was going. I feel strongly compelled to answer their questions though, and then end up going home and getting frustrated with myself for not saying what it was that I wanted to say.

[starshine_lue]

Watching videos like this on autism is great. It feels like every one I watch explains another thing I have struggled with my whole life and it feels so good to finally understand why

[wiandewaal]

Diet. I can stick to the same food, same times eating it for months without changing it. I stick to the same routes exactly to the same places week after week. I drive my neighbors mad with constantly complaining about their noise. Closing a door too loudly enrages me. Dogs barking feels like total chaos/something is out of control. Yet dead silence makes me anxious for I don't know what's popping up next in it. I live and sleep 24/7 with earbud headphones in listening to something. ...and all of what you mention of course 😊

[unfilteredentrepreneurs]

I laughed at the "not wanting to share things" part. I once was told "I could see you having a room in your house where nobody is allowed to enter or touch anything." This was before discovering I'm on the spectrum and I kept thinking "wow, that really does sound nice" 😂

[SophieBird]

Eye contact seems so invasive to me. My daughter got in trouble at school for not watching the teacher as he spoke, though she got top grades. She explained that she would zone out trying to “look like” she was paying attention, rather than just listening.