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Could shyness be just a way to "mask" autism?

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Lampipe
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14 Dec 2025, 3:23 pm

I was not an especially shy kid, but I’m a painfully shy adult. Some people are born shy, but in my case it came from years of becoming increasingly aware how awkward I am in social situations, so I gradually took the path of least resistance and grew more and more interested in things pertaining to being a loner. It’s possible I was always an introvert, which Google defines as someone who is more focused on their internal thoughts. Shyness, introversion, and autism are all correlated, but they aren’t interchangeable concepts and it is possible to be one without being either of the others.



babybird
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15 Dec 2025, 11:55 am

Tamaya wrote:
I was a shy child in the classroom but that was more down to anxiety and masking the unknown ADHD that I had. I didn't want too much attention drawn to me in class by too many children, so I was just perceived as shy. But when I was in a smaller class (like for math) I became a class clown.

I can be shy when around people I don't know very well, which I guess is a form of masking, because naturally I'm a sociable and amiable person.


I've heard shyness is an ADHD trait


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16 Dec 2025, 1:51 pm

I kept myself very quiet when I was in high school because my mum told me not to talk to my peers about my favourite bands. I figured that if I kept my mouth shut, I wouldn't have any slip-ups.


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