Autism Does Not Directly Cause Difficulty Socializing

One of the hallmark signs of autism is difficulty socializing.

This correlation can lead people to believe that autism automatically causes socializing difficulties.

It doesn’t. At least not directly.

An autistic brain processes differently. It is these processing differences that can then make socializing difficult.

Let me break it down.

Autistic individuals have brains that perceive, process, and learn differently than neurotypical people. It is theorized that neural pathways in Autistic minds fire more frequently and in conjunction with other pathways. This causes a greater intensity in the five senses, emotions, and thinking. It also causes multiple things to be felt and thought at once.

This impacts an autistic person in MULTIPLE WAYS.

For example, an autistic individual may have more sensitive hearing than a neurotypical. This makes them more sensitive to loud noises, so large parties and crowded places feel overwhelming. This can lead to difficulty socializing.

In this example, we can see that autism did not directly cause difficulty in socializing. Autism causes an individual to be more sensitive to sound, which then leads to it being difficult to be in crowded, public places, which then makes socializing more difficult. It is an indirect causation.