In another thread Tzoya wrote:
"But even those kids with autism who DO do well academically quite often fail to succeed in any other way due to lack of social skills. The bottom line is that no one wants to be around them. We loving call these things "quirks," but the world is not so loving about our kids' oddity. "
I have not seen any autistic grown up yet. So I am just wondering how does an adult autistic behave? What is this social skills problems that is mentioned everywhere? Are autistic adults shy? impolite and rude? aggressive or what...? It may seem a funny question but I have no clue about "social skills problems" in autistic adults.
Daddy
Here are some examples of common problems:
- not following unwritten social rules, for example how close we stand to people.
- lack of eye contact, which people perceive as being shifty.
- withdrawing or not saying hello, which people perceive as being rude or arrogant.
- behaving appropriately in various situations, even when under stress.
Daddy, autism, IMHO, is first and foremost a social disability. A person with autism is not born with the instinctive ability to understand social rules. Proper body space, conversational give and take and the desire and ability to seek social interaction are not instinctive to our kids, and subsequently must be taught. You ask if they can be "rude". Well...yes! In my son's case, he can be rude and arrogant, and he has no idea he is behaving this way, nor does he see anything wrong with this behavior. It's gotten better, but we still must work on it. My DH, who we suspect is Aspie, is the same way. He is self-employed and works at home as a way to navigate through his social inadequacies.