How is it possible to function well but still have autism?

[Anonymous]

My male cousin has job (he's a supervisor), has a relationship, owns a house, drive and can manage himself well in social situations to the point it's practically unnoticed.

He's just sensitive to extremely crowded, too much light or loud places. It's only been a couple years since two different facilities diagnosed him with the same things; Asperger syndrome.

How is it possible to function good in society and have a relationship (the woman is aware about it but ok with it) but still have autism?

Updates

+1 y

The irony is he can recognize the symptoms and can correct himself. For instance he used to interrupt during conversations a lot in the past or not always look you in the eyes but now he controls that and he looks you in the eye.

[ArrowheadSW]

I knew a guy from elementary school and high school who would definitely be considered to be Aspergers in today's world. He was book smart and a good student. I always wondered if he was able to make it in the work world. I looked him up on the internet and he became an accountant. What really shocked me was that he got married when he was 25. He couldn't even hold a conversation when I knew him let alone go on a date with a woman. So yeah I'm glad that he is doing well.

[Asker]

Thank you for sharing the story. Glad he was able to succeed in life.

[Anonymous]

Some of us just learned to function within society. Though he is doing better than me with the girlfriend.

[laraWM]

Yes of course it's possible although it probably requires a lot of work from both you and your cousin.
I think he had to learn all the rules to interact with other people and to understand how everything works.

[laraWM]

Your update definitely shows he learned social convention. That had to be a hard work

[Asker]

yeah I updated that
He has improved significant. According to what the facilities told him, it was masking. He didn't use to look at you in the eyes when he was younger and was distracted. Now he looks at you in the eye. He rarely interrupts in conversations. He's aware of the symptoms.

[Asker]

yeah it's quite surprising when they themselves know the symptoms and can manage it... wow

[laraWM]

Yes he's doing well

[AsaKyo]

It's because Autism is a spectrum, meaning not every single person with the condition acts the same. Some people have it worse than others while some people barely show any signs of having it at all.

[SecretsofKB]

Autism isn't a diagnosis like the flu or anything. Autism is a spectrum and there is a range of severity.

Your cousin just seems to me on the less severe end of the spectrum.