Differences between autism and shyness

Shy and autistic people share some degree of difficulty interacting with others in social communication situations, but there are huge differences between one and the other.

First of all, shyness is a personality trait which in more precise terms would be described as low extraversion, which may additionally result in a lower incidence of positive emotions.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder whose clinical expression falls somewhere on a spectrum of severity.. It collects a succession of characteristic symptoms and sometimes it occurs with intellectual disability.

In this article we will detail the differences between autism and shyness. With this objective in mind, we will describe the characteristics of both and highlight everything that differentiates them, since they are independent phenomena.

Differences between autism and shyness

The first difference, which is fundamental to understanding this issue, is that autism is a persistent neurodevelopmental disorder with anatomical correlates in the central nervous system

While shyness is a personality trait that does not erode personal and / or social autonomy with the same degree of intensity.

We proceed to detail the fundamental characteristics of autism.

What is autism spectrum disorder?

Autism was described by Leo kanner in the middle of the last century; understanding it as a profound alteration in the processes of social interaction, an inflexible desire to preserve one's own identity, an abnormal attachment to objects and a verbal expression characterized by mutism. Although many of these attributes are maintained in the current definitions of the problem, others have been qualified in the light of scientific evidence.

It is important to mention that autism presents different levels of severity, since it is a spectrum and not a monolithic picture. In this line, we can distinguish grade 1 (communicative difficulty of a moderate entity and restrictive behaviors in a single context), grade 2 (deficit to initiate contact with social type and behavioral inflexibility) and 3 (minimal interaction with others and extreme rigidity of behavior, with serious disturbance in the process of change of focus attention for).

All symptoms should start in the first months of life, although they are often more clearly evident when the child begins to participate in situations that involve a special social and cognitive demand, such as academics. This early onset, without appreciating any regression with respect to the previous acquisition of maturational milestones, allows it to be differentiated from childhood disintegrative disorder (which erupts after two years and erodes normal development until then).

1. Communication problems

People with autism may express difficulties in maintaining bonds that are based on emotional reciprocity, like friendship. They can approach others through approach strategies that are perceived as strange or abnormal, since they do not resemble the usual mechanisms through which the process of communication. This can contribute to the fact that the social fact is not resolved adequately or satisfactorily.

There also tends to be a kind of incoordination between verbal and non-verbal behavior. For example, eye contact is often impoverished, despite being an important element for the transmission of emotional information. Basic understanding of gestures and faces, particularly when they express an affective state, can also be substantially impaired. This difficulty deprives the person of essential contextual clues to understand the intention of others.

There is also an important tendency towards literalism in the understanding of spoken discourse, therefore that sayings or set phrases are not captured in a metaphorical sense, but in the purely textual. It is for this reason that concreteness is sought in the communicative process, with a preference for the use of verbal formulas that minimize the abstraction of the message that is intended to be transmitted.

In the most severe cases, a social behavior can be seen in which the symbolic game, which is one who moves away from objective experience, compromising the possibility of participating in playful spaces with peers. The behavior would not conform to the requirements of the framework in which the communication is framed, and it would be evident difficulty in satisfying the expectations that society projects in the different contexts in which the person.

2. Restrictive and repetitive patterns of behavior

People with autism can show repetitive or repetitive behaviors, as well as restricted interests that limit their adaptation to the environment. The most common is that they refer restrictive attention to what is interesting to them, absorbing their resources and shifting the rest of things to a second order of relevance. Thus, a close link can be forged with objects, on which a rigid relationship of use and exploitation is established.

Ecosymptoms may also arise, involving the repetition of acts (echopraxias) or words (echolalia) that are perceived in others. In other cases, the use of an idiosyncratic language is used, devoid of any norm of grammatical consensus, full of neologisms or syntactic structures that only those who live with the person. The stereotypes, among which the rocking stands out, are common and represent a form of self-stimulation.

By last, They may be attracted to or repelled by the color, shape, or texture of certain objects. as well as by their patterns of movement or arrangement in space. Sometimes they respond to these stimuli by showing a vehement rejection, or are trapped by its properties to the point of remaining engrossed for a long time in their contemplation, reducing the degree of reaction to other external situations (such as attempts to claim again your attention).

The need for structure can be transferred to the spatial and temporal coordinates of the environment, seeking a predictability that tries to impose a concrete logic on the uncertain daily life. This directly implies a tendency to force strict habits for the development of activities of the day day to day, which translates in parallel into deep discomfort when a change takes place unexpected. For this same reason, transitions (such as moving or changing schools) are experienced in a distressing way.

3. Cognitive disturbances

People with autism may have some degree of cognitive impairment, especially in executive functions. It is a domain of a higher order, related to the basic organization and regulation of behavior and / or thought.

It is highly dependent on the prefrontal cortex; which coordinates brain structures such as the premotor cortex, the basal ganglia, the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the hippocampus, the amygdala or the cerebellum.

Some of the cognitive functions that have been most frequently studied in the case are listed below. of autism, through research that explored the specific profile of neuropsychological involvement. All these alterations can concur even in cases in which intelligence is preserved, and they are an element essential to differentiate those with autistic traits from those with a personality characterized by shyness.

3.1. Attention

Attention is the ability to maintain the focus of consciousness on an element of the environment, as well as to filter relevant information or inhibit that which is not. In the case of autism spectrum disorder, alterations have been observed in the vigilance processes (maintaining attention for a prolonged period of time), as well as in the selection of the relevant stimuli and the discarding of accessories.

3.2. Problem solving

The involvement of planning and sequencing processes, which are basic tools for problem solving, has been observed with some frequency. These difficulties are associated with the projection towards immediacy, as well as the feeling of emotional overflow that emerges in the face of undefined or ambiguous situations. This deficit compromises autonomy and decision-making.

3.3. Mental flexibility

Mental flexibility is the ability to adapt to the demands of different tasks that follow almost immediately, and that imply the need to use different strategies quickly and efficiently. In the case of autism, there is rigidity in the cognitive process required to maintain activity in changing environments, or in which the demands of the situation cannot be anticipated.

3.4. Inhibitory control

Inhibitory control is the ability to obviate the impulse to issue a response to a situation of the environment that precipitates it, or to stop a behavior that has already started within a chain of causes and effects. It is the essential function for the regulation of the emotional state, tolerance to frustration and the balanced analysis of conflict situations.

3.5. Mentalistic skills

These skills involve the ability to be aware of mental processes that are unique to the person, and that are different from those of others. When they are intact, it is possible to monitor the flow of internal experience, and differentiate it from that of other individuals. It involves the recognition of the uniqueness of the people with whom one interacts, including their motivations and the level of knowledge they have about the subject that is addressed in a conversation.

What is shyness

Shyness is a preference for situations that do not involve social interaction, along with the experience of discomfort in contexts in which this has to be carried out.

It must be distinguished from the anxiety wave social phobia (hyperarousal and apprehensive anticipation of current or future situations that underlie some judgment), the disorder schizoid (disinterest in relating to others) and avoidant (fear of criticism and avoidance of contacts interpersonal).

Compared to autism, shy people have some difficulty in dealing with others, but are aware of the norms that govern this type of situation and can adopt them without problem in the cases in which they manage to equip themselves with confidence enough. They also do not present any type of restrictive interest or behavioral rigidity, nor a specific alteration of cognition or intellectual capacity.

These are situations that share an apparent alteration in the way in which the communicative act takes place, but that profoundly disagree on how and why. Shyness does not have any degree of pathology and should never be viewed as suggestive of herself, but from the wide range in which the personality of a being can manifest itself human.

• It may interest you: "The 10 keys to overcome shyness once and for all"

Bibliographic references:

• Castillo, M.A., Urdaneta, K.E., Semprún-Hernández, N., Brígida, A.L., Antonucci, N., Schultz, S. and Siniscalco, D. (2019). Speech-Stimulating Substances in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Behavioral Sciences, 9 (60), 1-13.
• Hall, D. (1991). Shy, withdrawn or autistic? British Medical Journal, 302, 125-136.