Autism not hidden for me.

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I hear a lot about autism (or more Asperger's which still exists as a diagnosis in the UK) being called a "hidden disability". (I am diagnosed with autism not Asperger's).

So if it is hidden, why do I get people saying things like "you act weird", "you walk funny and you don't act like other people".

And then the meltdowns. Yesterday my support worker took me to a sports clothes shop to buy some tracksuits (I cannot go shopping on my own anywhere except the local pharmacy and newsagent). A man walked right into me and then put his arm over my shoulders to say sorry for walking into me. I ended up screaming and I nearly hit him. I then ran into a corner, curled up, rocking and crying / shouting. My support worker had to tell the security guard to leave it and she had it under control.

I also have bruises on my body from self harm during challenging behaviour.

And I need a full time support worker at uni (even that doesn't stop the challenging behaviour).

Am I misinterpreting the phrase "hidden disability"? Because pretty much everyone that knows me or interacts with me can see I am disabled. The other students avoid me.

I think it depends on severity. For me, it's hidden because I can go about my day as normal as possible. The only real clue people have to knowing I'm different or whatever is my meltdowns. When I have those, you know something isn't right with me. However, most people consider them to be tantrums because they don't understand the difference.

But yeah, I think it depends on the severity. It's clear that you may be on the more severe end of the spectrum, so your autism is probably more apparent than other people with autism.

Ok that makes sense. I took this test: test ...and I got 172.

In social situations, I can hide it for about 30mins before I become exhausted from acting. Just like a sprinter run out of energy fast. My ability to act and hold up the facade is only temporary at best.

i am in the uk but not diagnosed with aspergers (autism dx instead) but yes like other people have said it if your autism isn't 'mild' or presenting in a specific way then its not going to be hidden for you.

i do know people who its true it is hidden but i think calling it 'hidden' isteand of *Can be a hidden* disability is misleading. i think p[eople who have it hidden forget about people who dont or think of them as a different group a bit.

Definitely not hidden for me. I don't think people necessarily know it's autism, but they definitely notice something (and often loudly, obnoxiously, and publicly bully me for it).

Yes, I can only keep it "hidden" for so long, myself....it isn't long that I'm in a social situation and I'm zoning out, fiddling with things, picking at my fingernails or swaying from side to side, if I'm standing. I also sing to myself to block out unwanted auditory input. I've even started playing with my Tangle toy in public more openly, like in my classes or even when I'm walking across campus. I don't care who notices or if it's distracting for anyone anymore....it's the only thing that keeps me calm and comfortable in public settings these days, and if I can't have at least one of my plushies to cuddle, I'm using my Tangle. So there.

It's not a hidden disability for me because of my social deficits, and until recently I was not aware of my behavior or how I was perceived by others.
I can't imitate people, I'm aloof and always by myself when I'm not with my family, and I have autistic mannerisms.
Tests indicate I have moderate autism, but I think I have mild autism.

It ain't hidden for anybody.

It depends on how severe the autism is whether it it is likely to be "hidden" or not. In the past, the response to children with LFA was pretty brutal; their parents would send them away to an institution and they'd be labelled as mentally ret*d. Probably spend the rest of their life in some sort of institution as well. I did actually meet someone like this; the middle-aged brother of my mum's friend. I never saw him have a meltdown, but even without that, you could tell that he was not "normal" or NT. He was mute unless directly spoken to and only spoke in a staccato, monotone voice.

HFAs are obviously more likely to present as "normal" and by this I'm including a wide spectrum of "normal" behaviours, ranging from being shy and retiring to being a party animal. After all, shy, introverted or even just depressed people do exist and are quite common; this could make them appear similar in presentation to somebody with Aspergers. Family, in particular, have a habit of dismissing peculiar traits for various reasons: can't be arsed dealing with it, too scared to deal with it - whatever. But friends and colleagues can also adopt the habit of thinking somebody is neurotic, eccentric or a loner, never for a moment considering it might actually be an ASD instead.

My dad falls into this category. Total neurotic and has always been regarded as such, but I also believe he has ASD underpinning his neuroticism and I inherited my ASD from him. (Doesn't mean I get on with him any the better, though....)

I also fell into this category. In early childhood I had several signs of being on the spectrum; apart from getting my hearing tested, nothing else was done. After I was 5, I must have settled down a bit, because I got through school. After high school, my life fell apart and I never really got it back together again, though I tried. I saw various counsellors; not one of them mentioned the possibility of Asperger's, even though I would sometimes clam up and not say a word for the entire session. My mum sent off for some Asperger's literature when I was 17; I only discovered it by accident. Decided I fitted some criteria, but not all of them, and basically excluded it as a possibility for msyelf.

After that, I just thought of myself as shy, introverted, lonely, depressed, socially ret*d - anything except autism. Then Crohn's came along and I became too ill and tired to care about the trainwreck that was my life. I eventually had surgery for it. After that, all the s**t I had swept under the carpet whilst ill came out of the woodwork with a vengeance. I was burnt out and had regular meltdowns. Reconsidered autism once again. Had an opportunity to be assessed, decided to go for it.

For some reason I told my stoma nurse I was going for an autism assessment. Literally her first words were, "I'm not surprised!". I wasn't expecting that reaction, tbh. It was the first time I had ever heard anyone (besides my mum) think that way. This was a woman who'd seen me a lot in the previous few months too, so it wasn't like I was a stranger to her.

Absolutely lost the point to this post now. It's stupidly late and I'm mildly inebriated. But I've spent long enough typing this gibberish out, so I'm going to post it. Sorry folks.

I never understood the logic of it being hidden because it clearly isn't. Where the "hidden disability" term comes from is that there isn't any obvious physical signs such as missing limbs, wheelchairs, walkers or like other developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome where their are a variety of obvious physical traits associated with the condition. Asperger's Syndrome exists inside one's skull so all one sees is the associated behaviour. The behaviour then can be blamed on just about anything in the eyes of the mostly ill-informed and judgemental public, making the diagnosis a rather hidden fact.

In my case i think it can be called hidden.
Someone who just see me walking down on the streets will not know that i have asperger (or at least will not be sure), unless i'm having a day with some extra dose of anxiety/sensory problems that will make me walk looking at my feet and in that case it may be more apparent. Otherwise, unless i make some personal contact with the person, it is not clearly visible that i have asperger.
In your case a situation happened that took the control out of you, wasn't it? So if it wasn't by the fact that the guy touched you things could've gone well? And in that case i think that it would still be a moment where no one noticed you have asperger, don't you think?

I suppose I am about as hidden as they come - I have only recently been diagnosed with ASD - no doubt it would have been Asperger's under the old DSM IV criteria. I can pull off mild social chatting and hold down a technical healthcare job and have done both fairly successfully. I suppose it is noticed by others that I tend to talk to myself a great deal and almost conversationally, I have a few odd stims and occasional hand flapping. And I tend to be a bit in "my own world" a good deal of the time. This is usually interpreted as being a bit "weird," "odd," or perhaps "eccentric if they are being kind. It is not usually spotted as autism or a disability. Although occasionally people will think that I am mentally ill if I am going through increased anxiety and these oddities become more noticeable. But I can pull off a job interview and other social situations quite well - but I do find it stressful.