Anxiety 

 

Anxiety is caused by many things as anyone can agree. However, people with Autism can have four big causes of anxiety. These are difficulty recognizing emotions of self and others, sensory sensitivities, difficulty with uncertainty, and performance anxiety. Due to the way the brain is people with autism find it difficult to read emotions, this can cause anxiety as they won’t know what others are thinking when other people may be able to read the body and facial language. They also have trouble knowing their own emotions.
Sensory sensitivity overloads are also a cause of anxiety, there are a few types such as Sight ( bright lights, certain colours), Sound (A certain sound or loud sounds in general), touch (a certain material or people), and smell (A certain smell or even strong smells other consider nice such as perfume).
Another big cause is difficulty with uncertainty. While not all people with autism like to have a schedule they stick to even if it’s day-to-day. Anything out of the ordinary even just going a different direction from the normal route they are used to.
Finally, they can get anxiety from not feeling like they can’t do something well enough without a guarantee of success meaning they are less likely to start new things. 

The signs that show up are often that they may become more repetitive in their actions, frequently called stimming such as shaking legs or clicking a pen. They may also spend more time on hobbies and interests as that is what they know. Others may become more insistent on routines, perhaps as a way of managing uncertainty, fear of failure, and sensory input.

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Depression

Again anyone can get depression, not just those with autism. They may get it from experiencing stressful events or trauma. Another reason could be related to a family history of depression. These are common for anyone with depression. People with autism may also have other mental or physical health conditions which together may cause depression. Abuse of drugs, alcohol, or medication is also a cause, often related to anxiety leading to this. A big reason for autism is alexithymia (difficulty identifying, understanding, and managing feelings). Especially in adults but also kids is a lack of adequate support as society and the system don’t give enough support so people struggle to get on with their lives as they also don’t feel like they are worth getting the support as they aren’t being given it.

ADHD

ADHD and Autism are very alike. It can depend on what combination of conditions they have, but sometimes people can be diagnosed with both. It is more common now to be diagnosed with both these days as in the past doctors were unlikely to do so, but as mental health knowledge increases so does the understanding. People are likely to be diagnosed with the one that fits the most boxes but everyone is different. This doesn’t help as much especially in females as they show their symptoms differently and every one is unique. Doctors mainly concentrate on what causes the most problems in the person's life.