Autism comes with traits that are actually quite useful for professional success. Attention to detail, perfectionism, creative problem solving, pattern recognition, good memory, empathy, conscientiousness and strong work ethics are all desirable qualities. However it does come with some negatives, which autistic individuals are able to mask very well, so they “pass as neurotypicals.”

Adults with diagnosed autism may have found the self-isolation rules liberating, but harboured anxieties about viruses, access to healthcare, and mostly about the social implications of the pandemic. Intensely missed interactions with other people. Some autistic adults found social isolation extremely difficult. This was even the case for autistic adults who did not normally require a lot of human contact. They missed the incidental contact, for example neighbourhood contact, which they had taken for granted, until it was gone.

If you as adult have never been evaluated for Autism as a child, you may have learned or picked up social skills through observation or good role modes rather than through feeling the emotions involved.

For example:

  • Have difficulty with theory of mind for example seeing others’ perspective; understanding emotions; imagining how others may feel; inferring others’ intentions.
  • Struggle with social cues and keeping personal space.
  • Struggle to keep a conversation going.
  • Tend to interpret words concretely.
  • Tend to blurt out comments without thinking how they may sound to others

When new challenges come, you may be less able to access the thinking part of the brain. For example, when work stresses are combined with family stresses, you may no longer able to mask. Or if a change is looming such as moving to a new country, this may destabilise you.

For example:

  • Not able to recognise in yourself and communicate to others when you are getting agitated, and this can escalate to a crisis before others notice.
  • Lack of control of the environment may cause a wave of anxiety and panic, may manifest as strong preferences for certain foods, sounds, textures and routines, which may come across as inflexibility.
  • May be poor negotiators: tend either to withdraw or overreact.

Redirecting, using routine, distracting, defusing tension through humour all help!

https://neurodivergentinsights.com/blog/autism-in-adulthood