• Has difficulty understanding social cues (especially nonverbal cues like posture, gesture, facial expressions, and tone of voice).
• Doesn’t pick up on social expectations or norms of classroom behavior.
• Isn’t aware that his/her classroom behavior disturbs classmates (e.g. noises, movements, sprawl of books).
• Doesn’t notice (and thus doesn’t respond to) social invitations.
• Has difficulty understanding that other people have different experiences and opinions.
• Doesn’t realize that everyone doesn’t know what he or she knows.
• Finds eye contact distracting – cannot listen while maintaining eye contact.
• May be impulsive (as part of co-occurring ADHD diagnosis).
• Isn’t always aware of how others are feeling, until their response becomes unmistakable.
• Has sensory challenges (over- and/or under-sensitivity) that make it hard to attend to other people.
• Wants to be part of the group, doesn’t understand how to participate appropriately, so does it in unexpected ways.

• Has difficulty initiating social interactions.
• Doesn’t pick up on norms of social interaction.
• Isn’t always aware of how others are feeling, until their response becomes unmistakable.
• Talks too much on topic of interest because of inability to read the signs of listener’s boredom or irritation.
• Misunderstands what other person said because of subtle language issues. Examples include:
  • Very literal interpretations, often concrete in nature;
  • Difficulty processing complex sentences;
  • Difficulties understanding pronouns;
  • Difficulties with words that have more than one meaning;
  • Surprising vocabulary omissions;
  • Trouble with verb tenses, plural markers, etc.;
  • Trouble with words indicating sequence (first, next, then, etc.)
  • etc.
• Sticks to familiar topics because subtle word finding issues make unfamiliar topics more challenging.
• Conversations are at a faster pace than the student can process. Especially true when more than one other person is involved. Students respond either by withdrawing, or by trying to control the interaction.
• Sticks to familiar topics when slow processing speed makes it hard to shift quickly in response to others’ comments.
• Has difficulty quickly understanding and absorbing what someone said.
• Unsure how to repair communication breakdowns.

• Has difficulty determining the main topic of discussion.
• Is deeply curious about details that may not matter to others, while missing the big picture.
• Wants to be part of the group, but doesn’t realize it is important to stay on topic.

• People with autism are introverted, extroverted, and everything in between. Personality type varies just as much as it does in the non-autistic population.
• Is discouraged and disengaged as a result of repeated social failures. This looks like introversion.
• Has difficulty quickly understanding what someone said. This can look like a lack of desire to interact.

• Has poor time awareness.
• Has difficulty prioritizing.
• Has difficulty breaking big tasks down into smaller, more manageable chunks.
• Poor fine motor skills make written work look sloppy.
• Has difficulty holding spoken directions in mind and forgets what to do.

• Feels emotions as strongly (and sometimes more strongly) than non-autistic people, but outward expression appears flat. An autistic person may be quite unaware of how his or her own body language is perceived.
• Has a default “logical” response to situations that others might find overwhelming.
• Doesn’t understand the emotional reasons for a behavior.
• Doesn’t understand why people would feel as they do.
• Has sensory challenges that lead to an under-reaction to environmental sensations (sounds, lights, smells, etc.).

• Has an emotional response to a trigger that a non-autistic person may not understand or notice
  • Misunderstands confusing or complicated social situations – can sometimes lead to perception of being bullied or teased
  • Has sensory challenges that lead to an over-reaction to sensory inputs (sounds, lights, etc.)
• Isn’t always aware of his or her own feelings, until they become overwhelming.
• Has difficulty letting go of a thought.

• Has difficulty coming up with a new strategy when needed.
• Has difficulty modifying or delaying a task when needed.
• Has difficulty letting go of a thought.
• Has difficulty transitioning from one activity or expectation to another.
• Has difficulty understanding that other people see things differently.
• Has subtle language comprehension issues that lead to misunderstanding.
• Cannot do what you are asking, but doesn’t know how to tell you that.

Lacks common sense

• Has difficulty making connections between events that others see as related.
• Doesn’t recognize the similarities between situations, so doesn’t learn from past mistakes.

• Needs to move in certain ways to maintain self-regulation (e.g., fidgeting, or pacing, tics, among others)
• Isn’t aware of where his or her body is in space, so bumps into things and people, or stands too close or too far away.

• People on the autism spectrum can be brilliant, cognitively challenged, and anything in between. Intelligence varies just as much as it does in the non-autistic population.
• Preferences vary just as much as in the non-autistic population.
• People with autism are usually passionate about their interests and driven to explore those interests deeply.

• Interest in sports varies as much as it does in the non-autistic population.
• Plenty of people on the autism spectrum are excellent at sports, but some may have challenges with motor coordination.
• Team sports that require quickly coordinating with others can be very difficult.