Autism and mental health

Autism is a lifelong condition. It affects how you experience the world around you. 

Autism isn't a mental health problem, but they're often related. 

We're here to explain more and tell you where you can support.  

What is autism?

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition. This means it's related to how your brain has developed and how it works.

Being autistic impacts the way you think and respond to the world around you. 

It can affect people in lots of different ways, so it's often called a spectrum condition. It's sometimes called autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or a ‘developmental disability’. 

You may also hear the term ‘Asperger's syndrome’, but doctors don't diagnose this anymore. 

If you're autistic you may experience things differently to non-autistic people.

Medical professionals look for these differences when they diagnose autism. They look for differences in communication, behaviours and interests compared to non-autistic people.

For example, you may:

• Interact with people differently. This doesn't mean that you can't make friends or have positive relationships. But you may need some help understanding non-autistic people's language and behaviour. For example, you might find it hard to understand sarcasm or figures of speech like ‘it’s a walk in the park’.
• Have different sensory needs. For example, you might find bright lights, loud noises or strong smells overwhelming.
• Need more consistency and routine. You may find new situations difficult to cope with. And you may need some support to help you know what to expect. You may find repetitive activities and routine comforting. And changes to routines may be difficult.     

How are autism and mental health related?

Research suggests that many autistic people also have a mental health problem like depression or anxiety. There are many possible reasons for this, including:

Negative attitudes from other people

Non-autistic people may not understand or accept your differences. You may be more likely to experience stigma, discrimination, trauma and loneliness. All of these experiences contribute to mental health problems.

Differences in interacting with the world

You may find it difficult to go to places that are often part of daily life. Like workplaces, health settings, shops or social spaces. You might find public transport stressful. Or have difficulty making phone calls or filling out forms. This can make managing money, education, housing, health and relationships hard.

Misdiagnosis

Some experiences of autism overlap with symptoms of mental health problems. This can mean that experiences of autism are mistaken for mental health problems. Misdiagnosis can make it harder to get the right help. And this can contribute to stress, anxiety and depression.

Barriers to support

It can be difficult getting the right support, both for autism and for mental health problems. For example:

• It can take a long time to get an autism diagnosis, especially as an adult.
• Mental health and social care services may not understand how best to support you.
• You may get passed between different services. And you might feel that nobody is taking responsibility for your care.

These barriers can affect your mental health.

Other conditions

Life can be harder for autistic people. This is because they're more likely to have other neurodevelopmental conditions such as:

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Learning disabilities
• Learning difficulties, like dyslexia

You can find out more on our pages on ADHD and mental health and learning disability support. 

What causes autism?

It isn't clear what causes autism. Many experts believe it isn't caused by just 1 thing.

It can affect people in the same family, so researchers think that genes may play a role. But they need more evidence on this.

Autism isn't caused by vaccines or the way someone has been brought up.

What support is there for autistic people?

There isn't 1 type of support autistic people need.

You may:

• Need different types of support at certain times or with particular areas of your life
• Need lots of support all the time, for example a carer to help you with money, food or your physical health
• Be able to live well without extra support. You may find your different way of experiencing the world helpful     

You may find you need support because of how other people treat you, not because you're autistic.

It's important that you get the right support to help you live the way you want to.

These organisations have more information on the kinds of support that are available.