- What are the main challenges faced by a person with autism when they reach adulthood?
- In the case of people with Asperger's, what are these challenges?
- How do you face the future when you have another disorder besides ASD, such as psychosis?
- As adults, how can we know if we have ASD if we have never been diagnosed?
- Do the symptoms of ASD worsen with age?
- How can we support our children through higher education? Is the system prepared to facilitate their integration?
- How can we help a person with autism in their workplace?
- What is the role of parents when their children with autism grow up?
- Can a person with autism live alone?
- What to do when a person with autism or Asperger's becomes overwhelmed in a relationship and withdraws? How can you help them?
- What are the sexual and emotional relationships like for people with autism? How can partners help?
- What are the main difficulties in social interaction and what strategies can be followed?
- Given the difficulty of diagnosing and intervening with women with ASD, what should we take into account and what does the evidence tell us about interventions with this group by community mental health services?
- How can adult autism be differentiated from borderline personality disorder (BPD), besides impulsivity?
- How to address the incompatibility and conflicts of a mother with ASD towards a child with ASD in daily life given the rigidity and low tolerance for frustration and lack of empathy-understanding of both?
- What can be expected from specialized care when a person with ASD moves into the adult care network?
- How can you motivate a person with autism to improve their physical activity habits?
- What therapy is used in cases of people with ASD who self-harm?
As adults, how can we know if we have ASD if we have never been diagnosed?
The symptoms can differ between women and men. I suspect there is some underdiagnosis in women . It's true that an adult who notices, for example, that they have difficulty socializing, or communication problems such as being very literal or not understanding double meanings, or excessively preferring routines, or having very intense and marked interests, among other things, might suspect that they could be a person with autism.
Boys, in childhood, I believe can be diagnosed more easily because they are like "little professors" on their subject of interest. Furthermore, if they are confused about their situation and express their frustration openly, that makes them more easily detectable.
Girls, on the other hand, tend to face their problems by imitating their friends, remaining more inconspicuous. Beware! This makes us especially vulnerable to abuse because our desire to belong and our difficulties in social situations and understanding contexts lead us to interpret, for example, sexual advances as a sign of acceptance from others.
Clearly, every person is different, and although autism often appears in the early stages of development, it may not fully manifest until social demands become overwhelming. And this can be a different moment for each individual.
