Published on 12, July, 2020
I thought it might be a good idea, for people who are looking for some advice, to explore the difference between being shy and being autistic.
There may be some individuals who suspect that they might be somewhere on the spectrum because they have difficulties with socialising and are not clear about the real differences between simply being timid and having autistic traits.
What are the key differences between someone who feels shy around groups of people and autistic people who have communication issues? How can you tell the difference?
"I define shyness as low self esteem where as if the shy person was made to feel welcome in a group eventually their true personality would emerge and they could be themselves."
Thank you, Confused39, this is what I was getting at.
It seems the point I was trying to make has been misunderstood, however.
It's all very well for people who have been diagnosed as being on the AS and know quite a lot about it to be aware of the signs of autism but I was thinking of someone who has never suspected they might be autistic but do know, for example, that they have great difficulties in social situations and just put it down to being shy.
I was thinking of people who sometimes come on this MB and ask for advice because they feel they are 'different' from other people but have never really gone into the reasons why. One of the obvious signs of autism is problems with social communuication, which is why I was curious about the difference in simply being shy (in the terms you have explained) and the experiences of autistic people who have a set of unique problems.