The Dustin Hoffman character in Rainman is an example of an autistic adult with specific abilities. He might be able to memorize phone books and do calculations, but he could not think conceptually. The least severe may function relatively normally but suffer exquisite pain from certain sounds or sensations. They may need directions given as a single unit because they cannot go back part-way and make a correction and continue the process. Some may stare into space or have an unusual attraction to spinning objects.
Some people can be very creative in an area but have no control over the small details of life.
Such a continuum makes it difficult to differentiate. Don t judge the parents as if they were the cause of the autism. Don t judge the misbehavior of the autistic child. Don t decide the child is unhappy or unloving because they don t show you affection in the usual way. They may quietly welcome you to their special world and be glad for the comfort and order that exists because of you.