Autism can make everyday social interactions very challenging. People with autism may miss out on the subtleties of conversation like sarcasm or jokes and may take anything that’s said literally. Eye contact, reading body language and understanding facial expressions can also be difficult, leading to problems in forming and maintaining important relationships.
Crucially, it is not that people with autism don’t want to be social but rather that the rules of engagement are often unclear. For some people, these autism symptoms can result in enormous social anxiety, isolation and loneliness.