Autism in Adults - 55 Hidden Signs

Hi! I'm Orion Kelly and I'm Autistic. On this video I explore the topic of autism signs in adults. Plus, I share my personal lived experiences as an #actuallyautistic person. #orionkelly #autism #asd #autismsigns #whatautismfeelslike

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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 providing validation and support for Autistic people and their loved ones.

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[lindaversil]

Autistic people are the best. We are honest, get straight to the point, don’t waste time with idle chatter. We tell the truth and have a strong sense of justice. We don’t like talking on the phone and gossiping for hours. We don’t like to bother people and burden them. We don’t make fun of people or want to hurt people or fight with them. We feel for the underdog. We are passionate about things I’m glad I’m autistic.

[mclovin]

Only 51 out of 55. I was pretty close to being autistic, there for a minute.

[Hand_Shake]

FULL LIST
1 Preference for solitude
2 Sensory sensitivity
3 Unique communication styles:
direct, honest, blunt,
4 Inward focus on special interests
5 Masking & camouflaging
6 Emotional regulation: alexithymia
7 Difficulty with change in routine
8 Literal POV
9 Attention to detail
10 Hyper-focus, flow state
11 Difficulty with social cues
12 Monotone speech pattern
13 Strong sense of fairness & justice
14 Clumsiness, coordination challenges
15 Preference for written communication
hate talking on phone
16 Strong memory & knowledge retention
17 Difficulty with abstract concepts
Hate hypothetical questions
18 Difficulty with conversations
Don’t do small talk
19 Sensory seeking behaviors
20 Directness & honesty (blunt)
21 Difficulty with social hyerarchy
22 High anxiety
23 Exceptional long-term memory
24 Preference for familiarity (safe people)
25 Sensitivity to emotional atmospheres
26 Strong need for predictability
27 Intense interests and expertise
28 Difficulty with eye contact
29 Literal honesty
30 Resistance to being touched
31 Hyperlexia (early reader)
32 Strong moral compass
33 Distinctive learning styles
34 Difficulty with small talk
35 Strong visual memory
36 Tendency to monologue
37 Difficulty w/implicit rules & norms
38 Enhanced pattern recognition
39 Difficulty w/time management
40 Low tolerance for ambiguity
41 Strong need for autonomy
42 Hyperfocus on justice & fairness
43 Difficulty w/ambiguous instructions
44 Prefer logical & structured environments
45 High sensitivity to criticism
46 Difficulty with impulse control
47 Memory of significant personal events
48 Difficulty with figurative language
49 Preference for specific topics
50 Reliance on regular daily activities
51 Prefer non-verbal communication
52 Sensitivity to texture
53 Difficulty w/multi-step instructions
54 Preference for solo activities
55 High level of creativity

[markc]

Here's the whole list. Will finish it when I can.
1. Preference for Solitude. Driving long distances alone with my own thoughts is the most peaceful feeling for me. I let the auto-pilot part of my brain drive and it allows me to daydream.
2. Sensory Sensitivity. Even on cloudy days I need to have my sunglasses on outdoors. I must escape when I hear multiple women talking at the same time. I love silence, but if there's a
background hum or buzz I have to have music playing to drown it out.
3. Unique Communication Styles. I'm a technician, and talk like a technician.
4. Inward Focus and Special Interests. Yep
5. Masking and Camouflaging.
6. Emotional Regulation Challenges.
7. Difficulty with Change in Routine. Yep
8. Literal Thinking. I use that as comedy all the time.
9. Attention to Detail. I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard "Why would you even notice that?"
10. Hyperfocus and Flow State.
11. Difficulty Reading Social Cues.
12. Monotone Speech Patterns. I'm a technician. Monotone is normal.
13. Strong Sense of Justice and Fairness. Yep
14. Clumsiness and Coordination Issues. Nope
15. Preference for Written Communication.
16. Strong Memory and Knowledge Retention. Yep
17. Difficulty with Abstract Concepts.
18. Difficulty Initiating & Maintaining Conversations. Absolutely
19. Sensory Seeking Behaviors.
20. Directness and Honesty. To my detriment.
21. Difficulties in Understanding Social Hierarchies.
22. High Levels of Anxiety.
23. Exceptional Long-Term Memory. Yep
24. Strong Preference for Familiarity. Yep
25. Sensitivity to Emotional Atmospheres. More so the older I get.
26. Strong Need for Predictability. Yep
27. Intense Interests and Expertise. My friend use to call me Cliff. (Cliff Clayvin from Cheers)
28. Difficulty with Eye Contact.
29. Literal Honesty. Ohh Yeah
30. Resistance to Being Touched. With Strangers.
31. Hyperlexia. My 7 y/o Grandson just finished 1st grade. He can read 87 WPM with 100% comprehension. He read an Atlas and now knows all the state capitals.
32. Strong Moral Compass.
33. Distinctive Learning Styles.
34. Difficulty with Small Talk. Yep
35. Strong Visual Memory.
36. Tendency to Monologue. Yep
37. Difficulty with Implicit Rules & Social Norms.
38. Enhanced Pattern recognition. Yep
39. Difficulty with Time Management. Yep
40. Low Tolerance for Ambiguity. Yep
41. Strong Need for Autonomy. Yep
42. Hyperfocus on Justice and Fairness.
43. Difficulty with Ambiguous Instructions. Yep
44. Preference for Logical and Structured Environments. Yep
45. High Sensitivity to Criticism.
46. Difficulty with Impulse Control. Yep I'm a binge eater.
47. Memory of Significant Personal Events. I remember my older brother's 1st day of school and how he had to be dragged in. I was 5 at the time.
48. Difficulty Interpreting Figurative Language.
49. Strong Preference for Specific Topics. Yep
50. Reliance on Daily Activities.
51. Preference for Non Verbal Communication.
52. Sensitivity to Textures. In Spades. I don't wear wool, sweaters, or turtlenecks. I cut the tag out of every shirt I've ever owned. No doctor has gotten a tongue depressor in my mouth
since I was very young. I actually learned to move my tongue down to avoid it.
53. Difficulty with Multi-Step Instructions.
54. Preference for Solo Activities. Yep
55. High Levels of Creativity.

[Mari-uigc]

I've been living like this my entire life thinking I was just broken. It's a relief to hear this. I don't feel like I'm crazy anymore.

[towzone]

Monologuing: I’m an expert, you asked me a question. The answer takes more than one sentence, but I get interrupted giving context to the answer I’m about to give and never get to answer the question. EVERYTHING is more complicated than it appears on the surface, but that’s the maximum depth for most people.

[MandaPanda]

I hit the jackpot yesterday. I despise small talk, so i have avoided hair dressers for years cos they are professionals of small talk. I pushed myself and went to a hair dresser yesterday, and she didnt do any small talk. Just cut my hair in silence. It was so good.

[Mamarita]

You described me to perfection! I get lots of anxiety with speaking on the phone. I just can’t do it….. But I can text forever and be very elaborate when texting. I am also a loner!

[grooviechickie]

I am 52 and am so good at camouflaging that when I finally (finally!) got the courage to mention my personal austism suspicions to my doctor, he told me that there was no way I could possibly be autistic because I am too sociable. He then proceeded to accuse me of wanting a diagnosis so thaf I could go on a disability pension and get NDIS.

I have not mentioned it again. I cried when I got home. I was so shocked that he could possibly think that.

I'm sticking with self-diagnosis, and being out-and-proud ND with my friend (autistic too). They get me.

[kensears]

Yes, when something has deprived me of my daily activity, it feels like grief, like someone intentionally was out to hurt me. It's irrational and I know it, and I manage the feeling as an adult. But the feeling is still there.

[thatjpwing]

“Just like you can’t ask a Mac to be a PC”. What a wonderful analogy! We just do things differently!

[towzone]

Rudeness is subjective. Expecting me to lie is rude.
Neurotypicals commonly lack the ability to handle any conversation that doesn’t also stroke their ego.

[kensears]

My autism discovery was in May '23, at 65 years of age. After a year-plus of reading, watching, thinking and, most of all, revisiting a lifetime's worth of experience, I'm reaching, irresistibly, the conclusion that at the core of autism is the absence of a "matrix." 

The absence is relative, sometimes more, sometimes less (corresponding, I would bet, to the degree one is "high-functioning"), but in all cases the essential quality is matrixlessness. The absence of a core schematic. Again, more or less, but some degree of absence. 

You might call it "matrix amnesia." The absence of an enduring perceptive-cognitive blueprint, so that, in a way, every socio-psychological-sensory outing is uncharted territory all over again.

Think, for instance, of hyper-reaction to sensory input, also hyper-vigilance. Every time a sudden, sharp noise (like a child's screech) happens in a large group setting, you practically leap out of your skin in "What's THAT?!" alarm...even though this has happened a million times before and everybody knows perfectly well what it is. 

And every visit to the supermarket is kind of the first time you've ever been in a supermarket. No, not because it's real amnesia, not because you don't know where you are or that you're supposed to pay for your purchases, but because there's this pervasive sense of foreignness to it all and unpredictability. The surface appearances are familiar, yes, but you don't really believe them. Because to you they are not a "matrix, " they're just what things look like today and you're not really sure what the rules are. 

It reminds me of my titanic struggles with arithmetic in school. And when the frustrated teacher would tell me the answer, "8x7 is 56! FIFTY-SIX!", I vividly recall, as if from inside my brain at that moment, staring at her, and her frustration, uncomprehending two things: 1) why she was so exercized about this number, and, 2) why "56, " even if it was the answer today, would still be the answer tomorrow.... 

This is where masking comes from, of course: performing, externally, the dance you see everybody around you doing, even if you can't penetrate the "Why?", because, well, how else can you survive among people you simply HAVE to survive among? This matrixlessness relates, I dare say, to every single one of the traits you bring up here. I will resist the temptation to discuss each one, and it's a big temptation! 🙂

I am in my own humble way, and with no particular schedule (though "by next year" would be nice) trying to write a book about this, my own personal chronicle that, I'd like to think, might help others. Maybe it will never be a book, maybe just a long blog. We'll see. In any case it's really helping ME, for now, thinking through all this. It's a fascinating journey of both discovery and healing. If I do finally write and publish it, its title will be "Visceral; My Discovery and Reminiscences of Autism."

[cherrystoltz]

Good grief! I scored a clear, unambiguous 55 out of 55. I was only diagnesed 1 1/2 weeks ago but so much is making sense to me. At church ladt Sunday, i shared my diagnosis with 2 of my best friends who were sittIng on either side of me. The one on the left said, "Welcome home! So am i!" My friend to the right said, "i believe I am too." I have never felt so safe and included before. Then i discovered that a very young, gifted musician who always chooses to sit next to me at Bible Study also has ASD. He's 23. I'm 73! God has been so good to me 😊. I still feel overwhelmed by this unacccustomed acceptance and understanding.

[Grace.allovertheplace]

27:17 yesterday I sat outside when a couple of people I barely know asked me if they could sit with me and I said: *”of course! but please don’t include me in any conversation!”* 😇

[chrismaxwell]

Small talk has a purpose. It's a verbal surface level conversation where 90% of the communication in non verbal body language where two people are evaluating each other to see if they conversation should end or go deeper. Psychologist online explained this. That explains why I never understood small talk and even understanding it dose mean I can do it

[EmilBülowPetersen]

I can relate to everything. I am being evaluated for autism on friday... looking forward to it. Been having a really hard time for all my life, and finally something makes sense to me. This video makes it pretty clear to me.

[malittlekitteh]

It’s interesting how many of these are also common with ADHD. I have ADHD and almost all of these resonate to the extent that I keep finding myself saying, “Yes! OMG Yes, TOTALLY!! Thank you!!” And I’m by myself watching this. I’m sure it’s possible I could also have a bit of autism, but with so much symptom overlap I’m sure I’ll never suss that out.

[Pete_]

I can relate to so many of these 55 signs, not all of them, but most. Saying that, it is validating to see so many of my traits condensed into one video. This is a lot of information and I will watch this video several times to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

[saml]

“The doors haven’t moved in my house”.

I assure you, they HAVE. I know this to be true because the doors and all furniture moves in my house all the time. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t run into them constantly. 🤣