Adult subthreshold autism
Name(s):
Subliminal autistic behaviour
Subclinical adult autism
Mild autism
Nature
Adults labelled as odd, weird or arrogant may be subliminally autistic. These adults are usually intelligent and often financially successful, but do not understand subtle aspects of interpersonal relationships or see the social inappropriateness of their behaviour. They may appear to lack common sense; heavy reliance on stored images and learned behaviours does not serve them adequately in novel social situations.
Autistic adults may have pronounced computer-like talents, such as holding a lot of details in their head at once, or being able to recall memories as exact images rather than as words.
Incidence
One study established tentative links between subliminal autism in parents and full-blown autism in their 380 children.
Claim
1. Quotes from autistic people: "I have a very limited, black-and-white view of the world." "I am a computer simulation of a human being." 2. There is something about computers that is very autism-friendly. Computers are very rigid, and so are autistic people. Autistic people try to decode the social world in a way that would allow a computer to make sense of it.
3. Hypersensitivity to sights and sounds, especially new ones, marks autism. New images can spark fright or panic.
Broader
Value(s)
Type
(G) Very specific problems