Standard traits of untreated people on the autism spectrum

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hi,

i'm working with a pretty well known professor of psychology to see if we can categorize some of the key behavioural traits of the autism spectrum.

what would you say are a list of the standard traits? I'm particularly interested in people who haven't had much help, or perhaps as you remember your kids before they went into therapy

i think some of the traits are:
- going into "little professor" mode and rambling for a long time
- not turn taking properly during conversations
- interrupting
- defensiveness
- being very blunt and direct

what else would you say? anything you can come up with would be very helpful. i'm obviously aware of the DSM but am looking for more observational stuff.

decreased eye contact. I feel like someone's going to steal my soul if I look at them in the eyes. It also feel like a very dominant, aggressive thing to do. good luck with your research. BTW, I think a lot of higher functioning people on the spectrum use imitation as a 'defense mechanism'. I know I can turn on the charm around people I don't know well, though it's exhausting for me.

Retreating to a fantasy world when feeling threatened;
Violent stimming or seemingly-uncontrollable actions when excited or anxious, or any other psychomotor agitation.

I was diagnosed at seven or eight but didn't really get any help because I was deemed too "high functning" and we lived in a hick town. I still go into "professor" mode and monlouge and ramble on about my obessions and I am very defensive. I also don't care what people think and if people tell me to shut up about my obsessions, I basicaly tell them to get lost and go procreate with themselves. I had to put up with that crap as a kid, I am an adult now. I had a horrible childhood and most of it was because I wasn't allowed to talk about my obsessions. I think I might have had an easier time coping with abusive bullying if I wasn't always being told to "widen my horizons" or that my parents needed breaks from hearing about said obsession.

Rigidities: needing things to be in a certain order or follow a particular routine. Similarly, disturbed by unexpected changes in normal patterns.
Black and white or rule-based thinking. Similarly, strong moral principles about right and wrong actions.
J.