Social Anxiety or Autism?

For majority of individuals who have been diagnosed with Autism, at some point has had the comment “you sure it’s not just social anxiety?” or “they’re just a little shy”. This can be very frustrating as these can be very different. That’s why, we at CareGen, thought we would write an article highlighting the difference between Social Anxiety and Autism.

Need more support? Why not book a FREE Clinical Appointment with an Autism Specialist at CareGen? Just click here to book your appointment!

Rigidity and inflexibility of thought

This is the biggest difference between social anxiety and autism. Sure, there are difficulties with social communication and interaction within both, however if there is evidence of rigidity and inflexibility of thought, then it may be time to consider autism. This can be in the form of needing routines and struggling to understand jokes and sarcasm. This is one of the main diagnostic areas of Autism which differentiates itself from other difficulties such as Social Anxiety.

Are you the type of person that has a strong need for routine in your life? Can you put yourself in other peoples shoes? Then your difficulties may be more than the social anxiety that your teachers/parents labelled you with. It may be that you visit your GP to see if there is enough evidence to get a referral to an Autism assessment service. Or if you can book a FREE Clinical Appointment with an Autism specialist at CareGen by clicking here.

Present in Childhood

One important question to ask yourself could be “how long have these difficulties been present?” This is because one of the main criteria’s for Autism is that there were difficulties present in early childhood. This could be in the form of difficulties with friendships back in nursery or lack of creative play when you were younger. Again, all of this goes outside of the realms of social anxiety and could possibly fit within the autism spectrum.

It may be that you discuss this with your parents or those closest to you when you were a child. If there were difficulties present in social communication/interaction and rigidity and inflexibility of thought, it may be time to discuss this with your GP. In addition, it may be that you bring your parent or family member with you to your appointment if you find social interactions difficult.

Need more support? Why not book a FREE Clinical Appointment with an Autism Specialist at CareGen? Just click here to book your appointment!