Shy people and autistic people share some degree of difficulty in interacting with others in social communication situations , but there are enormous differences between them.

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

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder whose clinical expression lies somewhere within a spectrum of severity . It includes a succession of characteristic symptoms and is sometimes accompanied by intellectual disability.

In this article we will detail the differences between autism and shyness. To this end, we will describe the characteristics of both and highlight what differentiates them, since they are independent phenomena.

Differences between autism and shyness

The first difference, which is fundamental to the understanding of this issue, is that autism constitutes 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 to 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 deep alteration in the processes of social interaction, an inflexible desire to preserve one’s identity, an abnormal bonding with objects and a verbal expression characterized by mutism. Although many of these attributes remain in the current definitions of the problem, others have been nuanced 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 (communication difficulty of moderate entity and restrictive behaviors in a single context), 2 (deficit to initiate social contact and behavioral inflexibility) and 3 (minimum interaction with others and extreme rigidity of behavior, with serious disruption in the process of changing the focus of attention).

All the symptoms should start in the first months of life , although they are often more clearly evident when the child starts to participate in situations that involve special social and cognitive demands, such as academic ones. This early start, without any regression with respect to the previous acquisition of maturity milestones, allows us to differentiate it from the disintegrative disorder in children (which breaks out at two years of age and erodes normal development until that moment).

1. Communication problems

People with autism may express difficulties in maintaining bonds that are based on emotional reciprocity , such as friendship. They may approach others through approach strategies that are perceived as strange or abnormal, as they do not resemble the usual mechanisms through which the communication process is initiated. This can contribute to the social fact that it is not solved adequately or in a satisfactory way.

There also tends to be a sort of lack of coordination between verbal and non-verbal behaviour. For example, eye contact tends to be impoverished, despite being an important element in the transmission of emotional information. Basic understanding of gestures and faces, particularly when they express an emotional state, can also be substantially altered. This difficulty deprives the person of essential contextual cues for understanding the intention of others.

There is also an important tendency towards literalism in the understanding of spoken discourse, so that sayings or set phrases do not come to be captured in a metaphorical sense, but in a purely textual one. 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 to be transmitted.

In the most severe cases, social behaviour can be observed in which symbolic play disappears, which is that which moves away from the objective experience, compromising the possibility of participating in playful spaces with one’s peers. The behavior would not adjust to the demands of the framework in which communication is framed, and it would be difficult to satisfy the expectations that society projects in the different contexts in which the person participates.

2. Restrictive and repetitive patterns of behavior

People with autism may show repetitive or reiterative behaviors , as well as restricted interests that may limit their adaptation to the environment. Most commonly, they refer a restrictive attention to what they find interesting, 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 relation of use and exploitation is established.

Echo symptoms may also arise, involving the repetition of acts (ecopraxias) or words (echolalia) that are perceived by others. In other cases, an idiosyncratic language is used, devoid of all norms of grammatical consensus, full of neologisms or syntactic structures that only those who live with the person on a daily basis know fully. Stereotypes, including rocking, are common and are a form of self-stimulation.

Finally, they may be attracted 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 they are trapped by their properties to the point of remaining long in their contemplation, reducing the degree of reaction to other external situations (such as attempts to reclaim their 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 to the uncertain daily life. This directly implies a tendency to force strict habits for the development of day-to-day activities, which in parallel translates into a deep unease when some unexpected change takes place. For this same reason, transitions (such as moving or changing schools) are experienced in a distressing way.

3. Cognitive disorders

People with autism may present some degree of cognitive impairment , especially in executive functions. This is a domain of a higher order, related to the basic organisation and regulation of behaviour and/or thought.

It depends largely on the prefrontal cortex, which coordinates brain structures such as the premotor cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, or cerebellum.

Next, some of the cognitive functions that have been most frequently studied in the case of autism are referenced, through research that explored the specific profile of neuropsychological affectation. All these alterations can occur even in cases where intelligence is preserved, and are an essential element in differentiating those who present autistic features from those who have a personality characterized by shyness.

3.1. Attention

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

3.2. Problem solving

It has been observed with some frequency that the planning and sequencing processes, which are basic tools for problem solving, are affected. These difficulties are associated with projection towards immediacy, as well as with the sensation 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 one another almost immediately, and which involve 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 where the demands of the situation cannot be anticipated.

3.4. Inhibitory control

Inhibitory control is the ability to bypass the urge to respond to an environmental situation that precipitates it, or to stop a behavior that has already been set in motion within a chain of cause and effect. It is the essential function for the regulation of emotional state, tolerance to frustration and considered analysis of conflict situations.

3.5. Mentalist 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 these skills are integrated, it is possible to monitor the flow of internal experience, and differentiate it from that of other individuals. It involves recognizing the uniqueness of the people with whom one interacts, including their motivations and the level of knowledge they have about the issue being addressed in a conversation.

What is shyness

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

It should be distinguished from social anxiety or phobia (hyperactivity and apprehensive anticipation of current or future situations behind some judgment), schizoid disorder (disinterest in relating to others) and avoidance (fear of criticism and avoidance of interpersonal contacts).

Compared to autism, shy people have some difficulty in dealing with others, but they are aware of the rules that govern this type of situation and can easily adopt them if they manage to gain enough confidence. Nor do they present any type of restrictive interest or behavioural 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 differ profoundly in the how and why. Shyness does not have any degree of pathology and should never be considered as suggestive of it by itself, but of the wide range in which the personality of a human being can manifest itself.

  • You may be interested in: “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.