The correct answer is No.

While it’s true that some autistic people don’t like parties, some really enjoy the quiet and structured environment of a library, and some like both. It is not the same for everyone. It would be wrong to say that all autistic people are unsociable. Autistic people can be very social, albeit sometimes in a different way to non-autistic people. For some, social activities like parties can be enjoyable even if they are exhausting. Autistic people may feel overwhelmed or overloaded. It may take intense effort to interact socially, effort may be invested in ‘masking’ (hiding) autistic traits, and the sensory experience may be extremely intense. Even if they enjoy parties, autistic people may find that this enjoyment comes at a cost. They may need to take time to recover afterwards. This could be described as a ‘social hangover’ or – since it may not be the next day – a ‘delayed social hangover’.
“I would rather go to a library than a party” is a statement in the Autism-Spectrum Quotient Test (AQ). This is a questionnaire about autistic traits that was first published in 2001 by Prof. Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at the University of Cambridge Autism Research Centre. It includes 50 statements, in which the respondent is asked to rate from definitely agree to definitely disagree. On average, autistic people score differently to non-autistic people. However, this is only the case when many of the questions are included. Asking any one of the questions on its own will not be able to distinguish between autistic and non-autistic people.

The correct answer is Yes.

The diagnostic criteria for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism (termed ‘autism spectrum disorder’ in the current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V)) are not mutually exclusive. A person can be officially diagnosed with both. In fact, it is becoming increasingly recognised that autistic people can have multiple neurodivergences; ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia being common examples.
However, some of those with lived experience report that accessing reliable diagnosis and services when both autism and ADHD are suspected can be difficult. Of course, this varies depending on where the person lives, including which country, or even which geographical area within that country.
Even if services exist to diagnose both conditions, a diagnosis of one can sometimes hinder recognition of the other. For example, anecdotal accounts suggest that some people diagnosed with ADHD find it difficult to be assessed for autism, and vice versa. According to one member of our team, the waiting time for an ADHD assessment in their European location is less than half the waiting time for an autism assessment. It has been pointed out that the disconnect between the two diagnostic processes is unhelpful in itself. Why should somebody have to go through two waiting lists when the same professionals could diagnose either condition in the same assessment? This is called differential diagnosis and some services offer this already.
Even if they are able to access a diagnostic service, not everyone can feel confident that the outcome is accurate. A survey by The National Autistic Society found that compared to males, women and girls in the United Kingdom were more likely to be misdiagnosed. 42% were not diagnosed with autism when first assessed, as opposed to 30% of males. Difficulties like these can lead some to consider self-diagnosis.

The correct answer is No.

Empathy – or lack of it – is not a part of the criteria for an autism diagnosis and some autistic people have excellent empathy skills. A wonderful example of this comes from an autistic group member working on this project, who has repeatedly been praised for advanced empathy in her training to become a counsellor.

Some scientists believe that autistic people struggle with what’s called ‘cognitive empathy’ (imagining other’s state of mind) but not ‘affective empathy’ (feeling an appropriate emotion triggered by another’s state of mind). This means that if an autistic person hears that someone is upset, or recognises that someone is upset, it is likely to upset them in the same way it might upset anybody else – what we might think of as an ‘empathic reaction’.

However, if a person has difficulty understanding another person’s emotion, they will clearly be unable to have an empathic reaction. Autistic people may not recognise emotions in other people unless they are stated explicitly. Exactly why this is the case is not fully understood. It is estimated that approximately half of autistic people have alexithymia, a difficulty identifying and expressing emotions. Despite much research focused on the relationship between alexithymia and autism, the nature of this relationship remains unclear, including whether one causes the other or whether they simply co-occur.

Relating this to empathy, it may be that a person must recognise and understand their own emotions before they can learn to recognise them in other people. If it takes autistic people longer to learn to understand their own emotions, for example due to alexithymia, they may also be delayed in recognising them in others. Additionally, even when an autistic person does recognise another person’s emotion and feel an empathic reaction, the way they express themselves can give the false impression that they lack empathy.For example, if an autistic person sees somebody in distress, they may notice, understand, and feel sad in response, but choose to help in a practical way rather than by comforting the person or using social ‘scripts’ like saying “I’m sorry you are feeling sad”. “Comforting someone when they are hurt might seem unnecessary because it will not make the pain go away. Instead, an autistic person might look for a more practical way of helping. It is a different way of showing empathy.”

The appearance of lacking empathy may therefore be explained by a difficulty recognising or inferring emotion in other people, or by a different way or responding. Whatever the explanation, the autistic person should not be labelled as ‘uncaring’ or ‘selfish’.

Of course, difficulties with empathy can occur in non-autistic people, too. One example is when non-autistic people fail to understand the state of mind of autistic people. This has been labelled the ‘double empathy problem’ and has been written about by researchers such as Dr. Damian Milton, Senior Lecturer in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at the University of Kent. This idea suggests that in order to improve wellbeing of autistic people, it may be better to help society better understand them, rather than trying to reduce their autistic ‘symptoms’, at least for those who are not distressed by their autism in its own right.

The correct answer is 30%

It used to be thought that special abilities were rare in autistic people, but according to a 2016 article in Spectrum News, they may occur in as many as one in three. These are often referred to as ‘savant’ abilities and can be defined as a skill or talent that is ‘remarkable’. A person with an ability so exceptional that they stand out in society, and perhaps become famous, is sometimes referred to as a ‘prodigious savant’. Autistic savant skills are commonly found in the fields of art, maths, music and memory; appear to be more frequent in males than females and are not unique to the autistic population. Somebody with a savant ability, or even a prodigious savant ability, may have high support needs in other areas of their life.

Some use the term ‘splinter’ skills to refer to those that are a splinter, or isolated section, of their bigger context, such as being able to remember long lists of numbers without knowing what they mean.

Even though co-occurrence between autism and exceptional skills is relatively common, it remains under-researched. Existing studies are limited by small sample sizes and usually focus only on one type of skill, such as memory or music. The frequency and range of skills expected in a large sample of autistic people remains largely unknown. The Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge is currently working on a study to explore the nature and the brain basis of exceptional skills using a survey and brain imaging techniques. One benefit of studying an autism-talent link is the potential to explain not just remarkable talent but also to understand information processing differences in autism more broadly.

It is important to remember that most autistic people do not have savant abilities, although many become extremely proficient and knowledgeable about their intense interests. All autistic lives are valuable, irrespective of talents; everybody has a story to tell, even if they do not capture the attention of the media and become famous.

It’s very hard to say how many autistic people an average person will meet in their lifetime. However, as autism is not something that is very obvious to most people, it’s likely to be many more than most people think. Therefore the correct answer is lots.

“When I tell people my son is autistic they often answer, ‘He looks normal so he can’t be’.

A 2021 study found the prevalence of autism in English schools was one in every 64 children. With average school class sizes between about 22 and 30, this means one autistic child in every 2-3 classes. Most school children in England are therefore likely to come across a minimum of several autistic children in their educational life. Put another way, it would be unlikely that any school child will not interact with autistic children.
In adulthood, it becomes more difficult to estimate. If there is between one and two autistic person in every 100 people, those who live quite isolated lives, meeting only a few work colleagues and with a relatively small group of friends, could potentially not come across autistic people. Anybody who interacts with over about 50 people is likely to meet at least one autistic person. If we physically meet 8,000 people in an average lifespan, and we assume that 1-2% of those will be autistic, then we will potentially meet 80 to 160 autistic people in person.

However, not all autistic people are ‘out’. Many keep their autism diagnosis or self-diagnosis to themselves for fear of discrimination. Many have developed strategies to minimise or hide their autism from the world around them. These strategies are called ‘masking’ or ‘compensation’, and they can make it difficult for non-autistic people to realise the person is autistic. It is therefore likely that even those who think they haven’t met anybody autistic, in fact have, without realising it.

The correct answer is Yes.

Many autistic people like their world to be predictable. For some, unexpected change can cause distress, even to the extent of autistic meltdown. However, even in the autism diagnostic criteria, this aspect of autism (“Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns or verbal nonverbal behaviour”) is not a necessary characteristic. This means that a person can receive an autism diagnosis without having this particular trait. We should therefore not assume that every autistic person needs their day planned in detail.

Structure and predictability may be more important in children than adults. In general, adults have more control over their lives than children, who have to do what adults tell them. Autistic children can become overwhelmed by a lack of structure or a sudden change of routine. Inconsistency can be a source of stress and anxiety, whereas a predictable environment can help them feel safe.

However, this can lead to a challenge for parents of autistic children. They can try to make life as predictable as possible, but it cannot always be so and as they grow up, the children will need to adapt to a relatively chaotic world. Plans change, trains are cancelled, much-loved foods are suddenly unavailable, and – of course – major world events like pandemics or war can upend even the most stable existence. Failing to build some tolerance to change into a child’s life could lead to longer term problems.
“As a parent the first thing you hear is that you need to establish a structure in the house because all autistic children like structure. But if everything is always structured you never learn how to cope with unexpected changing of plans.”

We should always remember that autism is a spectrum. Some autistic children and adults can cope with change and a lack of structure, while others cannot. Last but not least, what seems chaotic to one may seem structured to another.

The correct answer is No.

Some people believe the stereotype that all autistic people are more at home around computers than they are around people. This is a gross overgeneralisation.

It may be true that autistic people are more likely to be interested in science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) subjects. A 2013 study found that around 34% of young autistic adults chose STEM subjects at university compared to 23% of non-autistic students. However, while more autistic than non-autistic students chose those subjects, that only accounted for approximately one third of autistic students. This means that most autistic students chose other subjects.

The correct answer is No.

For many years, autism was thought of in terms of a ‘triad of impairments’: difficulties in social communication, social interaction, and social imagination. Perhaps it is the last of these that has led to the stereotype that autistic people lack imagination and creativity. In fact, many autistic people are extremely creative and artistic. The Art of Autism website champions many autistic creatives: www.instagram.com/artofautism6 (not affiliated with this project or AIMS-2-TRIALS)
‘Social imagination’ included, for example, difficulties in understanding other people’s thoughts or feelings, coping with changes in routine, and generalising information, as well as a tendency toward rigid thought patterns, special interests, obsessive behaviour and taking things literally. None of these characteristics (which in any case would not all be shared by all autistic people) rule out creativity. A previous version of the diagnostic criteria included ‘Absence of imaginative activity, such as play-acting of adult roles, fantasy’. It is true that many autistic children play in a different way to non-autistic children, but this is play nonetheless.
There are many examples to be found online of famous autistic creatives, but care should be taken to ensure that the person themselves has confirmed this. In researching this, examples were found in which people had repeatedly been reported as autistic, but one had since said they were not formally diagnosed, another said they didn’t believe the diagnosis (which may have been unsolicited) and another preferred not to be labelled and has therefore not been listed here out of respect for their preferences. Among those who have openly discussed being autistic are comedians Hannah Gadsby, Fern Brady, Actor Daryl Hannah and musicians Gary Numan and Susan Boyle. Links are included to support the list.