Symptoms

It is my belief that there are a lot more symptoms of High Functioning ASD than other sources claim. Many of the symptoms listed below cover a wide range of autistic conditions. They are my own opinions developed from the people I have studied and from my own experiences. I am currently in the process of writing an article on each symptom to explain them further. I will also indicate which symptoms of ASD are acknowledged officially by professionals. They are being updated regularly.

• Absent Minded – Ditzy, Forgetful (ADHD)
• Acid reflux
• Addiction
• ADHD
• Aggressive Outbursts – (U2HS)
• Allergies – photic sneezing and equivalents
• Allopecia
• Ambitious
• Angry – sometimes just for a few seconds – (U2HS)
• Anxiety
• Appear rude without meaning to – (U2HS)
• Are not afraid to say what they think – rock the boat
• Argumentative
• Arrogant- often unknowingly
• Artistic or creative
• Asexual
• Aspergers
• Attention seeking – Loud, brash
• Attracted to showbiz – need to be successful
• Autism
• Avid Collectors
• Avoid Tight Fitting Clothes – (irritability – wet/dirty hands, seat belts)
• Behave irrationally
• Bipolar
• Blunt – Attract unwanted attention – celebrities
• Body Dysmorphic Disorder
• Bullies/Abusers
• Can get high on music alone
• Cannot make their mind go blank when falling asleep
• Care a lot about what others think of them
• Childlike thoughts and behavior – MJ
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Chronic pain/Joint pain
• Clowning around – tell jokes often at the wrong time
• Clumsy – (See Dyspraxia)  – part of ADHD
• Comedians – see above
• Confide personal information in strangers – inappropriate behavior
• Confused about their sexuality
• Considered by others to be Weird
• Criminals
• Daydream a lot
• Defensive – paranoia and unable to take criticism
• Depression
• Dermatitis / Skin conditions
• Diarists – (depression link made by K Williams’ editor)
• Different handwriting for different moods
• Difficulty learning social etiquette and rules
• Disregard for people in authority – hate being told what to do
• Don’t like loud noises – (nerves)
• Dyslexic
• Dyspraxic
• Eating Disorders
• Entrepreneur – need to be self employed/successful
• Eyes sensitive to light
• Fixate on tiny musical phrases – and sing/play them over and over
• Generous to a fault – sometimes to “buy” friends
• Hate being touched or shown affection
• Hate dishonesty more than most people do
• Hate small-talk (Pragmatic)
• Hate surpises or changes to routine
• Hate sycophancy – won’t suck up to people
• Have one or several of many stress related illnesses
• Have poor short term memory (ADHD)
• Hedonistic – especially after eating carbs
• Honest to a fault
• Hypersensory Perception (HSP)
• IBS and ulcers
• Immature
• Impatient – (linked with irritable and pragmatic)
• Incompetent at what they dislike doing
• Indecisive and Impulsive
• Inflexible
• Insomniac
• Interrupt others –  before they forget what they want to say (ADHD)
• Intolerant
• Irritable
• Lack confidence
• Lack diplomacy
• Lack perception – can be perceptive but often at the wrong time
• Lack social inhibitors – inappropriate discussions
• Lateral thinkers – notice interesting things others miss
• Lazy
• Like animals more than most people do – untrusting of people
• Like quoting favorite lines from movies/sitcoms – (Funny Voices, obsessions)
• Like to be in Control
• Like to shock and be outrageous – dress outrageously
• Likely to believe conspiracy theories
• Migraines
• Misophonia – Hate certain noises
• Mood Swings
• More dominant partner in a relationship (Aspergers)
• Motion sickness – (ADHD, Dyslexia)
• Musical – often self taught musicians
• Must speak out if they witness an injustice
• Nervous
• Never finish projects
• Obsessive behavior
• Odd sense of humor – not always clear when they are joking
• Often do Funny Voices or accents a lot – sometimes sounding insincere
• Often get fired from jobs
• Often have more common sense than others – pragmatic
• Often late – for school or work – But hate others to be late
• Often serial complainers
• Outspoken and Opinionated
• Over-emotional – (Nerves, anxiety and lack of sleep)
• Panic Attacks
• Paranoid – wrongly think people dislike them, but end up being right
• Pedantic
• Perfectionist at what they like doing
• Permanent guilt
• Poor relationship with family – Often estranged
• Pragmatic – need to know the end result before starting anything
• Prefer to live alone
• Press down very hard when writing (Dyslexia/ADHD)
• Promiscuous
• Rehearse converstaions – (Headmaster in Jamie’s DS/Coen)
• Repetition
• Risk takers – unites criminals with entrepreneurs
• Self loathing
• Selfish
• Serial killers
• Slow reader or avoid reading books – (Dyslexia/ADHD)
• Speak without thinking first
• Speech impedements – (lack of confidence)
• Spending sprees – Overspend when depressed
• Stroppy and sulky
• Stubborn
• Sweet tooth – Diabetes Type 2 – Quick fixes to boost mood
• Take all day to write a letter or fill out a form – (Dyslexia/ADHD)
• Take comments too personally
• Take people and phrases literally
• Talk to themselves – (daydreaming/writers)
• Tourettes Syndrome
• Unable to admit they are wrong
• Unable to apologise
• Unable to concentrate on two things at once – (ADHD)
• Unable to feel empathy – or see others’ POV
• Unable to handle stress – U2HS
• Unable to keep a relationship
• Unable to suffer fools – but are often fools themselves
• Unable to take criticism
• Unpredictable / Volatile
• Untidy – or obsessively tidy
• Untrusting and unforgiving
• Victims of Bullying/Abuse
• Vitiligo
• Waste a lot of time doing nothing
• Worry too much
• Write poetry
• Write songs
• Writer – Or dream of being a writer

 

Actually a lot of the symptoms above are simply signs of nervousness and an inability to cope with stress. But to be honest, that in a nutshell is what I actually believe high functioning ASD largely consists of. But not everyone with ASD has anxiety issues. Lots of people with ADHD for example (or ADHD characteristics) are perfectly happy, such as my Dad. And Jedward!