At home or in public - which counts?

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Is a person considered severly autistic if they cannot function in public (no talking, no eye contact, being in their own world, stimming, self-injury, impossible to reach etc.) while functioning okeyish and being able to talk at home?
Or is it the way the person acts at home that counts?

I'm just wondering.

It all counts. There may be reasons for symptoms to be more severe in public - anxiety seems to be a big reason. Many people here report greater difficulty in public. Make sure you report the differences to your doctor.

It definately all counts, and possibly can appear (to a random observer) to be worse at home, if you are somewhat decent at putting up a facade.

I think it depends on which area of autism you mean.

If you just mean communicating, then yes, you might function better at home surrounded by people who know how you communicate.

Other things, like sensory issues and stimming can be just the same at home or even more obvious. I guess it depends on you and what you are like.

I'm much better at home because my parents understand me. I get overloads at home from time to time if everyone is talking at once, that kind of thing. I'm still in my own world at home, but it is normal to my Mum and Dad. I find work difficult because I find it hard to stay in my own world and to keep myself to myself without either being too open and freaking people out or being too closed that people think I'm being antisocial, I guess I'm at that point where I half know how to behave half don't so it's still difficult outside of home

It depends on the person. How they react to the outside is how they react to change and being in unfamiliar situations...which is only one part of autism. If someone can't handle change well, then they only have difficulties with this aspect of their experience...unless there are other difficulties involved as well.

Often times with autism, you can keep up skills for some of the time but not all of the time. Like, you can talk for some of the day but your language cuts out the rest of the time. Or, you can spend an hour with other people, but get too exhausted to go longer than that. It's not that unusual, as far as disabilities go; for example, I've got a friend with CP who can walk for short distances but not long ones. The assumption that if you can do something sometimes, then you can always do it, is incorrect more often than not.

In social situations my social difficulties become worse but at home my other problems take over such as my need for routines, going into meltdowns when they are disrupted, my inability to cope with too much change and my obsessions with my hobbies. If rubbing my tickle (piece of silky material I have) and talking to myself whilst walking around the house count as stimming I also do that lol. I also indulge in repetitive behaviours such as listening to the same song over and over or watching the same Movie etc.

When I am out I keep my social encounters short and polite as I can't speak much around others unless it's a topic I know about and I feel like talking in the first place (in which I case I tend to talk at people more than talking with them). Mostly I don't want people to speak to me too much as I am usually off in my own world somewhere and I don't want to have to pull out of it (tiring if I'm not in the mood to pop out of my head). I am nearly always in my own world at home as well though.

However, to the onlooker, socially some of my problems are less noticeable actually as I wear a mask, but I can only keep it on for brief periods before I tire and start having problems such as feeling very overwhelmed and flustered, at which point I flee so I can be alone lol. Sticking to scripts or rehearsing conversations (if going for an appointment for example) can also help me hide some of my problems.