Did you know that the third week in March Is National Introverts Week? Founded by Matthew Pollard of The Introvert’s Edge Podcast, its aim is to boost pride in introversion and highlight the contributions and value (potential or actual) of introverted people.

Sounds like what I try to achieve on The Autisphere, right?

As an autistic person and an introvert, this piqued my interest. There seems to be a common misconception that all autistic people are introverts. And a 2018 study by Knott and Harvey found that people without experience of autism struggled to distinguish between the two.

What is an introvert?

The terms ‘introvert’ and ‘extrovert’ were popularised by Psychiatrist Carl Jung. Someone is considered an introvert when their interests are directed inwards. They often appear quieter and more reserved. They are less dependent on social interaction and can find this draining. Therefore, they need more time alone to recharge.

In contrast, extroverts interact enthusiastically with the outside world and find social interaction energising. They are quicker to act and happier to draw attention to themselves.

Are autistic people introverts? Interesting that the word autism comes from the Greek word for self – ‘autos’ – which means ‘self’. This term was selected because autistic people were viewed as removing themselves from social interaction and being more inwardly focussed.

Does introversion belong on the autism spectrum?

I happened upon a Master’s thesis that proposes this should be the case. Grimes (2010) proposes that introversion is strongly related to autism as they share inward focus. She suggests traits that autism and introversion have in common, including:

social discomfort and the tendency to avoid social situations

difficulty in changing task or attention

attention to detail

Something I really like about Grimes’ thesis is her acknowledgment that the inner worlds of introverts and autistic people may be misinterpreted by others and are likely much richer than people imagine.

Grimes talks of autism and introversion as both being spectrum phenomena. She interchanges the words ‘spectrum’ and ‘scale’ and this, for me, is where we run into some difficulties. Introversion and extroversion are personality traits and people often view them as a straight line with people sitting someone upon it. Ie, being more social or less social to put it extremely crudely.

People often misinterpret the autism spectrum to mean this same thing – a linear scale. However, this is not how the term spectrum was intended. Lorna Wing used the term to represent that though autistic people share difficulties in common areas, they are all affected in different ways and to varying extents.

Perhaps a diagram such as this is a more accurate representation, representing autism’s complexity:

Image from https://rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php)

An important distinction

While introversion is a personality trait, autism is not an aspect of personality and identity. It permeates everything we are. I would find it impossible to tell you which parts of myself were ‘me’ and which were the autistic parts. Because that’s just not how that works. And I’ll leave that there because it’s a post in itself!

So running with this, an autistic person can have a range of personality traits. We don’t all have the same ones. Sure, some might be more common than others. Or perhaps they are just misinterpreted by people making assumptions from what they can see externally.

So, can autistic people really be extroverted?

Absolutely! There are autistic people who crave social interaction. They enjoy meeting people, socialising with them and being in the centre of the action. Their difficulties can arise from not following the social norms around boundaries. They might be considered by neurotypical people as overenthusiastic (a nice trait to have I’d say).

I think poet Harry Giles explained it well when asked how he can be autistic and work as a live performer across the UK. He said, “Autism isn’t just about being introverted, it’s about finding ordinary social interactions difficult…Sometimes in social situations I won’t know what the rules are, or I might get them a bit wrong sometimes and get anxious…onstage – I’m in charge. I set the rules” (Murrie, 2016).

It reminded me that I used to dance on stages for many years and when I was dancing, I felt alive! I felt seen by others, without the fear that comes with ordinary social interaction. And when I’m with the people who know me well or engaged on a topic I love, I can come quickly out of my shell to the point where there is no stopping me! So perhaps I’m not purely an introvert after all.

Final thoughts

Shout out to the autistic introverts during #nationalintrovertsweek. But also know that at The Autisphere I see and celebrate you all.

One thing introverts and autistic people have in common is that the world does not seem designed for them. Extraverted neurotypical people seem to have a much easier time navigating the world and achieving success. But that doesn’t mean that the rest of us don’t have unique and valuable contributions to offer this world. We’ll just do it in our own way.

References:

Grimes, J.O. 2010. Introversion and autism: A conceptual exploration of the placement of introversion on the autism spectrum. [Online] Available from: http://etd.fcla.edu/CF/CFE0003090/Grimes_Jennifer_O_201005_MA.pdf [Accessed 19 March 2020]

Knott, J.R.P.S. and Harvey, K.N. 2018. Myths about autism: an exploratory study using focus groups. Available from: http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/70616/3/Autism%20myths%20full%20paper%20%281%29.pdf [Accessed 19 March 2020]

Murrie, E. 2016. Can autistic people be extroverts? BBC Scotland. [Online] Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-37714048 [Accessed 19 March 2020]