What is the difference between a shy person and a person with autism?

Question

What I have read, some of the symptoms of Autism is lack of confidence, self esteem...

Answer 1

Here is the difference,
When my daughter was a toddler,she was very shy.At home, she would talk non stop.I would take her to work with me,and if a co-worker spoke to her,she would cling to my leg,bury her face,and not say a word,obviously knowing the person was trying to interact with her.
When my son,who has autism, would go to work with me, and a co-worker tried to speak to him,he had no reaction at all.It was as if he couldn't hear them,and sometimes almost seemed like he didn't even see them.Like he looked right through them.In fact,having his hearing and eyes checked were things we had tested before we learned of his autism.
So both kids wouldn't talk when I took them to work,but you see the difference?

Answer 2

Autism is not a lack of confidence or self esteem, it's a medical problem with different depths.
Some autistic children can learn to associate with other people and some never let anyone into their world. They have a tendency to do repetitive things or certain things like rubbing a blanket over and over for hours as a form of stimulation. Some do not like to be hugged or kissed and then there's the extreme of not wanting to be touched. Some won't make eye contact with anyone.

You need to do more research to find more details on Autism.
Shyness is totally different.

Answer 3

I don't think it follows that because one person is autistic, they are therefore shy.

Autistic people often miss social cues. But they can be non-stop talkers.

I once lived with an autistic guy who would follow me everywhere and talk about the New England Patriots. Even when I went into the bathroom and shut the door; he would continue talking. Always about the Patriots.

My other roommate had to tell him "I need my quiet time."

He probably had a lack of confidence and a lack of self-esteem also. But where that might dissuade most people from socially interacting with others, it didn't dissuade him at all.

The reason was that he was socially oblivious; he wasn't even aware that someone was getting annoyed with him for his incessant chatter. In fact, a lot of these autistic types -- people get mad at them, and they can't figure out why. It must be a really terrible feeling going through life like that.

Answer 4

They are not related. My son has severe autism and he does not have a lack of confidence or low self esteem. He does not even consider that anything he does in public could be rude and has never even though about what others think of what he does. He can do very inappropriate things in public and could care less. It has nothing to do with being shy.

Answer 5

People with Autism struggle with "change" and lack in social skills. They often focus completely on one thing, like collecting things or the complete knowledge of a chosen subject. They like to hold onto things and like things done in their own way. I think unless you really know someone, it would be hard to notice to above quirks. There have been studies into fathers above the age of 30, when they concieve a child, there is a high chance that, that child could have Autism.

Answer 6

All beings that develop in the womb necessarily have some degree of autism. It's called a spectrum disorder, but the whole human race is on the spectrum. Every time you avert your eyes from a disturbing sight; that's autistic. Every time you are rendered speechless from shock; that's autistic. Every time you tap your foot or twiddle your thumbs from impatience; that's autistic. Shyness is an autistic symptom. The only difference between an autistic and a shy person is a matter of degree.

Answer 7

Autism is more of a disability and an autistic person may be intelligent, but not communicate. Shy people, to varying degrees are nervous about meeting other people or other social situations. Shyness is something most people recognize in themselves and will overcome on their own. Autistic people may not think there is anything 'wrong' with them and they may need help from a specialist in this field.

Answer 8

Sometimes, I live with Asperger's. It is more of your mind hits stop signs once in a while. You dont know what to do next.

Shyness is an emotional hold back on your mind. Autism is more a block not related to a feeling for fear. More a sense of lost.

Answer 9

There's not a ton of differences. But autism usually includes the actual inability to talk to other people. No matter how hard they try, people with autism absolutely cannot talk with another person face-to-face. When someone's shy, they just feel uncomfortable in public, they can still force themselves to talk to people.

Answer 10

A shy person has the ability to interact with people but are uncomfortable doing so. An autistic person, such as my 15 year old son has damage in certain parts of his brain including his speech center. He is non verbal. An autistic person does not know how to interact with people they only mimic what they see in their mind. Its like they're in a fog. Its just the way their brain is wired.