05/27/2026
Autistic kids are often missed (or misdiagnosed), and if I had to pick a number one reason, it would be that autism was dismissed because a person is socially motivated and friendly.
But Autistic people CAN be socially motivated and friendly. It’s not social = not autistic and asocial= autistic. When considering Autism, it’s HOW people are social. Which gets tricky, especially when people don’t know what they are looking for.
Other reasons many kids go undiagnosed:
• They internalize struggles and are quiet or “well behaved at school,” or like me, was viewed as the star student and teachers pet
• Smart kids and gifted kids can be (and are often) Autistic
• Kids who have inconsistent support needs- this can vary from day to day or setting to setting. Often Autistic kids do best in comfortable, familiar, and predictable environments
• Kids who already have a diagnosis which results in adults not looking deeper (ie ADHD, ID, Down syndrome, genetic disorders, anxiety, OCD, SPD, delayed communication, learning disorders, dyslexia, etc)
• Kids with high connection needs- seeking constant adult attention in an excessive or intense manner is actually a common autism trait, but people “rule out” autism because it’s socially based
• Kids who are hyper-verbal, spoke early, or talk a lot
• Kids who are highly in tune with emotions and have deep empathy - can still be autistic, and if it’s especially intense, is actually common in Autism
What would you add? ⤵️